In Lust
by xxGUSHINESSxx
Summary: When Raven's powers begin feeding off the lust Robin and Starfire have for one another, one green Titan gets caught in the crossfire. Rated M for mild adult themes. BBRae, minor RobStar. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

 _Hello to my readers. For those of you who read my version of season six, labeled "After Things Change," you know that I've hinted this story may be my next project. Now, after several weeks of brainstorming and writing, here it is. Please remember to review; your feedback is appreciated!_

 _This story is based on a cannon idea from the original comics. I do not own the comics or Teen Titans._

 _ **Important Side-note:**_

 _There will be a sneak peak for my next major BB/Rae story (with some RobStar) entitled_ _ **"Growing Up"**_ _in the author's note before the last chapter of this story. I plan to have this entirety of this fic posted in under two weeks. Keep your eyes peeled!_

~0~0~0~

The first time Raven felt it was when she was on the roof. The first time was gentle.

As always, meditation was a practice that involved her complete attention and control in order to achieve properly. On her best days, Raven found she could mentally leave the Tower itself, and instead journey to another dimension. This particular meditation session proved to be difficult for the empath, for she could not seem to shake the distractions of her environment.

The feelings and visuals that riled her so came in flashes, in whispers. A ghost of breath on her neck. The tip of a finger tracing up her spine. Her eyelids, still closed, crinkled up in an expression of discomfort, signaling the unease she felt from these strange sensations.

Flashes of colors came next. Red. Then purple. Then green. There was always green. Feelings of anticipation and excitement filled Raven, causing her breath to come out in shallow gasps. It wasn't until the backs of her legs touched the Tower's roof did she realize her concentration was completely lost.

She grunted, gingerly placing a hand to her temple. Her jaw became tight with tension as she tried to make sense of the feelings that overwhelmed her. She knew instantly they didn't belong to her. They couldn't, really, because she had never felt anything quite like what she was feeling now.

Hands tangled in hair. Bodies shifted. Lips parted, releasing a surprised gasp. Raven emitted her own pant, her eyes flying open as she discovered whose feelings these were and why they caused a thick pool of heat to settle in the lower part of her stomach.

A cold dread entered her body, easily overtaking the wanton feelings churning within her. These sensations may not have been her own, but that didn't mean they didn't affect her. Being an empath sure did come with some startling realities.

Sweeping her cloak around with her arm, Raven rose from her spot, finally admitting defeat in her attempt to meditate. Her footsteps echoed softly down the hall, as she made especially sure to redirect her route, so she was as far from Robin's room as humanly possible.

So two of her closest friends had finally become intimate. It wasn't really a surprise. Robin and Starfire had been dating for close to a year after all. Following Tokyo the two had become nearly inseparable. Raven had been pleasantly surprised in the shift in Robin's demeanor as a result of their courtship. The Titans' leader had become more easy going and understanding. He still held all of them to the same standard as before, but the others could recognize that Starfire's gentle and caring influence had started to seep into his actions.

Raven sighed, a little annoyed with herself. She didn't like to make a habit of reading through her friends' feelings, but sometimes it couldn't be helped. When there was a dramatic shift in their emotions, it was almost impossible for Raven _not_ to feel it. That being said, everything she felt was at a surface level. She had never gone digging into her friends' emotions, and she didn't plan on it either. After all, how could she ask her friends to respect her privacy if she couldn't offer them the same courtesy?

Raven suspected that because these emotions radiating off of Robin and Starfire were new and so different from anything her friends had experienced before, they were much harder for the half-demon to block out. Very well. She may have to deal with a few weeks of discomfort on her end, but it was worth it if it meant allowing two of her closest friends this form of happiness. Then again, the first time was gentle.

The second time was powerful.

She was in ops about a week later, making a cup of herbal tea when it happened. It was late afternoon and the team had returned from battling Cinderblock earlier than expected. Cyborg and Beast Boy had begun a rousing match of whatever loud rendition of video game they enjoyed, while Robin and Starfire had disappeared without an explanation. As Raven rested a teabag into her drink, she glanced up when she heard Cyborg's victory cry, signaling Beast Boy's usual defeat.

Raven watched with mild curiosity as Beast Boy's face became a mixture of mild annoyance and disappointment. She couldn't fathom why failing at such an immature activity could be worth such a reaction. As she raised the steaming mug to her lips, she sensed a mild shift within the changeling. His ears twitched and his expression became even more troubled, although at the time Raven had chalked it up to his dramatic reaction to losing the game.

Only a moment later did the wave of emotions slam into her chest, the force causing her to drop her cup full of tea onto the floor. She barely heard the mug shatter as she gripped the countertop, gritting her teeth. Flashes of green-gloved hands filled her vision along with strands of sweaty red hair trapped to an orange neck. Raven's breath came out in soft pants, a combination of discomfort and extreme pleasure coursing through her body.

He was kissing her neck, sweeping her curtain of hair out of the way as he did so. Those blasted green gloves finally came off, revealing pasty skin. Layer by layer colored clothing tumbled to the ground revealing orange curves and a pale muscled back. He was moving and she could practically _feel_ him and-

"Raven? Everything okay?" Cyborg asked, snapping her back to reality.

Raven jerked back violently, drawing her hood up in front of her friends for the first time in years in order to conceal the redness of her cheeks and perspiration on her forehead.

"I'm fine," she muttered, knowing her lame response would not settle her friend. Deciding she needed a distraction, she used her powers to clean up the shards of her mug, plunking them into the trash bin.

"Ya sure?" Cyborg pressed. "You looked pretty spooked. If you're coming down with something I could run a couple tests-"

"I appreciate it, but I just need some rest," she assured him, moving in the direction of the door. "The battle with Cinderblock must have tired me out more than I thought."

Cyborg nodded, not entirely convinced, but Raven was thankful he didn't push the topic. As Raven exited ops she caught a glimpse of Beast Boy, watching her with the same curiosity she had had while watching _him_ only moment ago.

 _For once he's rendered speechless,_ she thought with a smirk. At least there was a small upside to this.

The third time was heavenly.

Raven had been in her room reading a rather mundane scene in her book when she began to feel lightheaded. There wasn't any unpleasant dizziness or nausea that accompanied this feeling, rather she felt like she was levitating even though her body still lay on her bed. She felt feather like touches running up her body, and she sighed in contentment, not even realizing her book had fallen from her grasp onto the floor.

She felt phantom lips at her jaw, fleeting enough to remind her none of what she was feeling was _her_ , but enough to keep her trapped in this trancelike bliss. The heat pooled in her stomach; once it had used to feel so foreign but was now beginning to feel like a familiar friend. Raven's head lolled back onto her pillows, her hair fanning across her cushions. Her body became tense.

The emotions were the best part. She could tell she was filtering Starfire as a wave of happiness, comfort, and peacefulness from being loved by someone else washed over her. When the sensation eventually left her, Raven felt colder than she ever had before.

She sat up, suddenly ashamed of herself for not being able to control these lustful images from entering her mind. Even more startling she realized, was that after this latest session she wasn't sure if she even _wanted_ to be rid of them. She felt dirty. She felt wrong.

Which was probably why the next day when Robin addressed her, she couldn't look him in the mask without reddening. Raven hid her emotions well, but nothing escaped the attention of the Boy Wonder. He had prodded her relentlessly until Cyborg had taken pity on her and advised Robin to give it a rest.

Raven was no fool. She knew hiding something like this from her friends could have consequences, but could one really blame her? What would she tell them? What would she expect their responses and solutions to be? She could confide in Starfire, but it was unreasonable to suggest the Tamaranean not be intimate with her longtime boyfriend. Raven was willing to bear the burden of these conflicting emotions so as not to upset the balance of her friends' romantic relationship.

On the other hand, she did not want these feelings she absorbed to affect her own relationship with her friends, especially Starfire. The redhead was able to feel so strongly that her emotions were usually the ones to consume Raven first. This unfortunately meant that when she and Robin made love, Raven would often take the place of Starfire, living through the girl's feelings and physical reactions. She would hate to think of herself as coming between Starfire and Robin in such a way, so this was her main reason for not confiding in the girl.

Deciding that focusing her powers was the only way to combat these visions, Raven made a point to repeat her mantra tirelessly in her head whenever they began to arise. Sometimes she was even successful in expelling them. Most of the time she was not.

Three weeks had passed at this point, leaving Raven to feel flustered, shameful, and completely sexually frustrated. After a particularly passionate session, she found herself in the training room of all places. She figured if boys could theoretically release their anger by punching a bag, then maybe she could find a similar catharsis.

Raven raised her fists, feeling a little foolish as she jabbed at the punching bag a few times. Her punches weren't very strong, and the bag barely moved as a result. Her fingers, on the other hand, were already sore. Frustrated, Raven let out an angry grunt and enveloped her fists in black energy, swinging her arms again and using her powers to knock the bag right off its hinges. It was cheating, but it had the desired effect.

Panting, Raven pulled off her hood and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had to admit; she did feel a little better. That was, until she discovered she was being watched.

"Woah," a voice said from behind her, causing her to freeze, "and I thought _I_ had some major freak outs."

Raven whipped around and sure enough the changeling was there, leaning against some training machinery, his eyes filled with amusement.

Raven tried to compose herself, not wanting to admit that she was embarrassed someone had been watching. "I'm sure you could benefit from your own workout instead of spying on mine," she quipped, watching with mild satisfaction as his cocky expression faltered.

He shrugged after a moment, seemingly unbothered. He glanced down at the fallen punching bag and then back up at Raven. "Why are you in here anyway? Robin hasn't scheduled any training 'til tomorrow."

"Maybe I just wanted to work out on my own," she replied, aggravated that he couldn't just leave her be. Beast Boy gave her a skeptical look but thankfully didn't press any more. He morphed into a gorilla and hosted the punching bag to the ceiling again. He returned to his normal form, grinning at her as he did so.

"Anyways, I came in to ask if you wanted to watch a movie."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Are the others already in ops?"

She watched in fascination as Beast Boy's normally confident demeanor shifted to one of uncertainty. "Ah…well, no. Robin and Star are kinda MIA, and Cy's on the phone with Bee…aaaaaand I don't think that's going so great."

Raven nodded. Cyborg had gone on a couple of dates with the Titans' East leader, but the two were beginning to realize their personalities might be too similar to work well together, at least romantically. While she hoped her friend worked out his romantic troubles, she knew it wasn't her place to get involved, nor would she want to.

Raven paused; her attention being drawn to the first part of Beast Boy's statement. "Robin and Starfire aren't in the Tower?"

"Yeah. I think they went to dinner or a movie or something."

Raven wanted to grunt in frustration. So the workout may not have been cathartic at all. It was true that the farther she was from someone, the less she could feel his or her emotions. That being said, it wasn't very practical to be forced to leave the Tower every time her friends were feeling passionate. Especially during the night.

She must have been silent for a while, for Beast Boy took the opportunity to continue his rambling. "So would you wanna hang out or…?"

Raven considered the changeling. "You want to spend time with me. Just the two of us." They were statements, not questions.

Beast Boy's ears drooped a bit, and he raised his hands in defense. "Yeah, I mean, I just thought it would be cool 'cuz I'm super bored and everyone else is busy…"

Raven tried to ignore the slight stab of hurt she felt from his statement. Of course she was a last resort. She already knew this, so she didn't understand why it bothered her so much, especially coming from Beast Boy.

She turned away from him. "I'm sure Cyborg will be finished soon. You'd have more fun with him," she said, a trace of bitterness leaking into her voice.

Her shoulder twitched as she felt his hand rest there. "What do you mean? I always have fun with you. That's why I asked."

Raven stepped out of his reach but turned around so she faced him again. "So," she said after a few moments of silence, "a movie?"

The green Titan's face lit up. "Yeah! Come on, I've already got a few choices picked out!" He grabbed her by the forearm and dragged her from the training room. As they approached ops, Raven noticed she had never actually accepted his offer, but found she didn't mind his assumption. She never understood how out of everyone, he was always the one to try and get her to do activities. She wasn't exactly receptive most of the time, so it was a wonder he never tired of attempting to involve her.

As she sat down on the sofa in ops, she found a large bowl of popcorn placed under her nose. Clearly he had made enough for two people, another indication of his confidence that she would join. When she declined his offer of food he seemed a little put out, so she took a single kernel from the pile and placed it into her mouth. It was salted but unbuttered due to his vegan appetite. Raven had to admit it was pretty good, so she slyly took another kernel to chew.

Beast Boy put on a flick neither of them had scene before, something about a detective solving a murder mystery. It wasn't necessarily Raven's cup of tea, but it far better suited her tastes than some slasher film. Beast Boy was quite vocal throughout the duration of the movie; often citing whom he thought was the murderer. He also asked Raven about her input, something that surprised her. She didn't expect him to listen almost as much as he talked.

About halfway through the picture, Robin and Starfire popped their heads in to let the two Titans know they had returned. Raven nodded at them while Beast Boy made some distracted noise, his attention far too focused on the screen in front of him.

Raven expected the couple to join them, or at the very least raise eyebrows at the fact that she and Beast Boy were watching a movie together, but they did neither of those things. They instead disappeared almost as quickly as they had arrived. Raven didn't really think anything of it, for she was admittedly having a nice time with Beast Boy. As one of the more quiet scenes of the movie played before them, Raven began to feel something familiar.

 _Oh Azar, please not now._

She could practically hear Starfire's giggle in her ear, could almost feel the spandex of Robin's gloved finger trace up her thigh. Raven's fingernails dug into the arm of the sofa. Her heart began to beat quickly, and she wondered if it would seem suspicious if she left the room. She snuck a glance at Beast Boy, expecting to find him still absorbed in the movie. Instead, a troubled frown graced his features and his ears began twitching again.

 _He's probably trying to figure out the crook in the movie,_ Raven concluded, biting her lip as another wave of emotion swept over her. She was proud of herself; she was actually controlling her powers fairly well this time around. And while she still felt discomfort, it was not as powerful as the other times.

That was until she caught Robin burying his face between orange legs.

Raven let out a gasp, partly due to the sensation, but also because she was able to see Robin's closed eyelids in her vision. It wasn't a surprise he had removed his mask for such an intimate act, but it was a shock for someone like Raven to see. This of course revealed another problem Raven hadn't even considered. What if she were to see Robin's identity before he was ready to reveal it to her? Was that not invading his privacy further than she already was?

She shot a glance at Beast Boy, thankful he was too distracted to pay any attention to her gasp. She was also grateful he was a few feet away from her on the sofa. The last thing she needed was for him to notice her like this.

Raven shuddered as Starfire's passion overtook what little control she had. She sunk lower on the sofa, doing her best to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. Her chest rose and fell with little, fast breaths. Her legs began to twitch as that feeling rose higher and higher in her stomach.

 _Please no,_ she thought, the shame and revulsion with herself already making its way into her mind. Her toes began to curl. She bit her lip so hard she could taste blood.

Beast Boy bolted up beside her, nearly making her jump out of her seat. "Let's call it a night," he said, seemingly out of nowhere, and then left the room with the movie still playing.

His sudden absence felt like a cold bucket of water had been dumped on her. It was true these visuals of Robin and Starfire often left her frustrated and unsatisfied, after all it wasn't really _her_ with the Boy Wonder, but the transition from pleasure to frustration was always gradual. This time it had been as if someone had flipped a switch, and it unnerved her to think it had anything to do with Beast Boy.

Sighing, she got up and turned off the movie. They would have to finish it another time. As she made her way back to her room, she pondered what could have spooked Beast Boy so much as to leave without an explanation. Could he have somehow known what was happening to her? Her blood chilled at the thought. Talk about completely mortifying.

As she shut her bedroom door for the night, she glanced over at her bedside table where her mirror lay. She would certainly have to visit Nevermore, and soon, but tonight she was simply too drained. She was about to unfasten her cloak and get into bed when she heard a knock at her door. She opened it, only slightly surprised to see Beast Boy on the other side.

He looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry I had to leave like that."

"It's fine," she replied cautiously.

Beast Boy scratched the back of his head. "We could finish the movie some other time if you want."

Raven cocked an eyebrow, not expecting him to want to take the time to complete their activity together. "Okay."

Beast Boy grinned a little. "Okay, cool. Well, night Rae."

"Good night."

She watched him begin to walk down the hallway before she shut her door. As she walked to her bed again, it occurred to her that Beast Boy's room was located in between Robin and Starfire's.

She shuddered at the thought.

~0~0~0~

 **Author's Note:** _More relationship building to come! As promised, action will take a backseat to romance in this story. That being said I still think it's important to include a bit of action, as was the style of the show. A villain who was in the fight with the Brotherhood of Evil but was not in any of the episodes will make an appearance for the subplot in this story. That's all I'm revealing for now!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:**

 _As I've said, this story is based on an idea from the comics. In the comics, Raven feeds off of Robin and Starfire's lust for one another, and by doing so unintentionally thinks that Dick is in love with her. In this story Raven recognizes that her powers are on the fritz, and she struggles to overcome them while also accidently getting Beast Boy involved._

 _I understand Rob/Rae is a very popular non-cannon pairing. Personally, I (as well as my sister who is also a major fan of Teen Titans) do not understand this pairing at all. I suppose they did have a few "moments" in the show that could be interpreted as romantic, but I've always viewed them as having a brother/sister relationship._

 _I honestly feel that their romantic relationship, if they had one, would be the most depressing and angst filled relationship ever. They are very similar, which is why they have such a strong bond, but I feel as though they are far too alike to work together romantically. They both need lighthearted people to draw them out of their rooms when their inner turmoil becomes too great. This is why I think Robin and Starfire and Raven and Beast Boy pair so well together._

 _Finally, the thing I probably dislike the most about this ship is it's occasional treatment of Raven and Starfire's friendship. I've sometimes seen this ship pin these women against each other, prompting fans to pick which one is "better." Raven and Starfire have such a strong friendship that it's really sad to see them as "enemies" especially over something as petty as a boy. I feel as though it's an insult to their characters to see them handled in this way. They would never hurt each other because their friendship is too important._

 _Anyway that's my blather. Obviously anyone should be able to ship anyone, but those are my personal opinions on the matter, especially since this story dabbles in extremely minor, if not misconstrued, Rob/Rae. Let me know what you think of this chapter!_

~0~0~0~

The past few nights she dreamt of green gloves.

They were everywhere. On her bare shoulders, on her back, in her hair. They touched her the way a lover would, and she relished every moment. His fingers sent sparks along her skin. Green. There was always green.

She always woke up feeling terrible. The fourth night in a row it happened, she sat up and screamed into her pillow. The release of emotion helped-it cracked her bureau mirror but that was beside the point-but it didn't make the dreams stop. She knew sooner or later she would have to confide in someone, but she wanted to push it off, still convinced she could find a solution herself. She tried so hard to hide it from the others, but she knew her resolve was weakening.

"You feeling okay Raven?" Cyborg asked her the next day during training, which involved an obstacle course. "You seem a little…tired."

She was. She had caught a glimpse of her reflection that morning and had noticed dark circles had begun to form under her eyes. She couldn't let it seem suspicious, however, for then questions she wasn't prepared to answer would be asked.

"Looking tired isn't exactly a compliment," she deflected, falling to her dry sense of humor.

Cyborg smiled. "You're right, my bad. Just looking out for ya."

"I appreciate it," Raven replied, using her powers to bring up a boulder to shield her and Cyborg from laser blasts. Once she had neutralized the threat she turned to her friend. "It's just something I need to work out on my own."

Cyborg nodded and then moved away from her to complete the next round of obstacles. Raven let out a sigh. Cyborg was always good about not pushing her on things like this. It was a nice change compared to Beast Boy's usual pressuring, although nowadays she found she didn't mind it as much. She even caught herself wondering if they would finish their movie from the other night.

Lost in her thoughts, Raven almost didn't notice the training robot in front of her, poised to blast. Before she could summon her words, however, Robin swung in on his grappling hook, wrapping his arm around her waist and lifting off just in time to escape the attack.

As they landed Robin turned to her, his arm still around her waist. The contact made her body tense. "Are you okay?" the Boy Wonder asked, frowning. "You seem distracted."

Without meaning to, Raven shoved Robin away with enough force to make him stumble back a few feet. He gazed back at her in shock, and she was sure she mirrored his expression. By now the other Titans had begun to notice the exchange and gathered around the two.

"Raven?" Robin asked, confusion written all over his face.

"Is something the matter, Friend?" Starfire questioned, concern evident on her own features.

Raven felt sick. She didn't deserve their concern. If they only knew what she had been thinking about the past few weeks. "I need to meditate," she said abruptly, turning on her heel and leaving the room. When she entered her safe haven, she sat on her bed and picked up her mirror, knowing that this was long overdue.

 _"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos,"_ she chanted, feeling herself fall into the portal.

When her feet touched the ground, Passion was the first to greet her. Raven wasn't surprised, considering what a huge influence the emoticlone must have had over her as of late.

"Hey Raven," Passion said, batting her eyelids. "Have fun training today?"

Raven's face lit up in an angry blush, and she grabbed Passion by the arm. "Come on," she growled. "We're going to find Knowledge."

Passion pouted but didn't protest. Raven dragged her emoticlone around Nevermore until she finally spotted a glimpse of a yellow robe above them. "Knowledge," Raven called. "I need your help."

Knowledge jumped from the ledge, landing neatly on the ground. Once her feet touched the stone flooring, she glanced from Passion to Raven. "Oh my," was all she said.

Raven sighed and swung Passion around next to Knowledge so she could talk to both of them at once. She crossed her arms. "Care to explain what's going on?"

The question was for Knowledge, but Passion piped in first. "You're in lust," she purred, cocking her hip to the side.

Knowledge glanced at Passion, observing her antics for a moment before turning to Raven. "What Passion means to say is that your powers have been affected by the unusual and dramatic emotional changes among your friends, namely Starfire, due to her ability to intensely feel."

"I know that already," Raven said, rubbing her temple. "I need to know how to make it stop."

"Make what stop?" Passion crooned.

A muscle in Raven's jaw twitched. "The visions. The dreams. The _feelings_. Especially for Robin."

Passion cocked her head to the side. "If you have any _feelings_ for Robin like you say, then that's news to me."

"What?" Raven asked, feeling a thrum of hope in her chest.

"She's right," Knowledge continued. "Judging by the way your powers react, the only times you 'feel' anything for Robin must be when Starfire is near to him and feels similarly. You _are_ channeling her emotions after all."

"So I don't feel anything for Robin," Raven stated to clarify.

Passion giggled. "I'm not as one dimensional as you think, Raven. There are many layers to your passionate side."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see," Passion remarked, her eyes glimmering mischievously.

Raven sighed, only mildly annoyed at how cryptic Passion was being. After all, she now knew for certain that any 'attraction' she felt for Robin was purely when channeling Starfire. Even so…

"How do I stop the visions then? I can't go on like this and maintain my sanity," she pressed on, intent on finding a solution.

Knowledge pursed her lips. "I think you were on to something before when you were trying to find a release. You need to divert the lust you 'feel' for Robin to another target. Preferably to someone you are already attracted to or feel affection for."

Raven scoffed. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I don't exactly have a line of guys constantly knocking at my door."

"No you don't," Passion said, a grin nearly splitting her face, "you just have the one."

Raven was thoroughly confused for a moment until the realization hit her. She would have laughed if the notion weren't so ridiculous. "You can't be serious."

"Why not?" Passion argued, pouting a little. "You enjoy his company and his efforts. He makes you laugh, and you think his ears are cute."

Raven's eye twitched. There were so many things wrong with those statements. "He does _not_ make me laugh."

"Not out loud," Knowledge offered, but stepped back when Raven shot her a murderous glare.

"Oh for Azar's sake, Raven," Passion continued, "at least spend more time with him. It's not like you weren't going to anyway."

"I'm not going to use him emotionally."

"Then don't," Passion told her, "just stop being such a downer and enjoy yourself for once."

~0~0~0~

Passion's words lingered in her ears throughout the rest of the day. The only time Raven emerged from her room was for dinner, and even then she didn't see anyone. It was probably for the best. What sort of explanation could she even give them? When she returned to her room she scanned her shelves for a book she could read. She eventually selected one but found she was rereading the same lines over and over again due to lack of concentration.

Could Beast Boy really be the solution to stopping these visions? Why were Knowledge and Passion so sure of this? How could he even help? He would have to know everything about what she was going through, and for some reason explaining that to him seemed especially embarrassing.

A few hours later a knock sounded on her door, and she just _knew_ it was him. Passion would be gloating in Nevermore right about now. Placing her book on her bedside table, she made her way over to answer the door. Sure enough when she opened it, Beast Boy was there twiddling his thumbs.

"Hey," he said, not really looking at her. "I get if you're not in the mood, but I was thinking maybe we could, uh, finish our movie?" He glanced up hopefully.

 _Is there some way my emoticlones are plotting against me?_

Though mildly miffed that Passion seemed to be getting her way, now could be a good time to test Knowledge's theory. That being said, she really didn't want to risk running into Robin or Starfire. She couldn't handle it in her current frazzled state.

Raven frowned, knowing she would have to turn Beast Boy down and feeling a little disappointed at the thought. "I think it's best if I keep to myself."

Beast Boy smiled shyly in response. "I thought you'd say that, so instead of watching in ops, maybe we could watch in my room?"

Raven looked at him skeptically, but Beast Boy cut in before she could protest.

"I know what you're gonna say, but I cleaned it; I promise!" He made cleaning motions with his hands to further demonstrate his point. "I even put some cents in there to make it smell like your tea…and to cover the old pizza smell," he admitted.

" _Incense_ ," she corrected him, yet inside she felt interestingly warm. Had he truly gone through all this trouble just for her? She surveyed him curiously. For the first time she noticed that he also had tired bags under his eyes. Maybe she wasn't the only one struggling to get a good night's sleep.

"Does that mean you'll come?" he asked, interlocking his fingers.

Raven sighed. How could she say no now? "Fine."

"Sweet!" he cried, grabbing her by the arm and tugging her towards his room. Upon entering Raven had to admit he had cleaned the place nicely, which was saying something. As she entered his abode, she detected the smell of ginger. It was a little powerful for her liking, but she supposed anything was better than the smell of rotting food.

Beast Boy tugged over too large beanbag chairs and turned on his television. It was an old thing with antennas and a massive cable box, but it had fair enough quality for viewing a movie. Beast Boy plopped down into his beanbag chair and patted the seat next to him. Raven had never sat in one, for she never felt the need to feel like she was being eaten alive by a piece of furniture, but she relented. As her back sunk into the material, she realized the chair was actually fairly comfortable.

As they played the movie where they had left off, Beast Boy engaged her in conversation once more. He seemed really passionate about television and movies, which made sense if she thought back to when they battled Control Freak via the television. Raven supposed if Beast Boy wasn't _Beast Boy_ , than maybe he would have want to pursue a career as an actor.

They fell into silence after a while. This was usually around the time of night where Raven would experience visions of Robin and Starfire, but either they weren't going at it, or she couldn't feel them. Maybe she could actually get through a night without feeling mortified. Imagine that.

Sure enough, because the universe despised her so, she didn't exactly get off scot-free. The protagonist in the movie had just rescued his secretary, and the two had finally admitted their love for each other before the night of the final showdown. They began to kiss passionately and undress each other under the candlelight.

Raven felt Beast Boy stiffen besides her, and she felt just as uneasy. It wasn't everyday she sat in the room of her changeling teammate watching two naked lovebirds do the horizontal mambo. Just what was this film rated anyway?

As the female leads' breasts popped out, Raven got her answer. She was sure her face was bright scarlet at this point. Beast Boy cleared his throat a couple of times next to her, but other than that he was just as quiet. It was like he too was silently begging for death.

Thankfully the scene ended a couple of painful minutes later, and the movie concluded after another half-hour. When the credits began to roll, Beast Boy got up and popped out the movie. He turned to her smiling.

"Thanks. That was fun," he said.

Raven nodded. "Yes."

They stood in awkward silence for a few moments. Now would be a perfect time to tell him, to ask for help, to finally get this off her chest.

Instead she chickened out.

"I should go," Raven said, getting up from the chair.

"Oh yeah. Okay. See you later," Beast Boy replied, scratching the back of his neck.

Raven made her way towards the door, still internally debating with herself. At the last moment she turned around to look at the green Titan. "We should do this again sometime," she spoke finally, surprising herself.

Beast Boy seemed a little slow on the uptake, but once he realized what she had said, a huge smile adorned his face. "Yeah! That'd be awesome."

Raven nodded before exiting his room. As his door slid shut behind her, she let out a puff of air she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Was it really using him if she enjoyed the time spent with him and would have done it anyway? By definition no, but everything about Raven's emotions these days felt wrong.

Raven walked with her head down, still deep in thought. She was so distracted that she almost didn't even notice Starfire until she had practically collided with the taller girl. Starfire let out a girlish squeal of alarm, but smiled once she saw it was only Raven.

"Raven! How glorious it is to see you," the girl said, beaming down at her. "Are you feeling better from this morning?"

Raven could feel her heart hammering against her chest. Starfire suspected nothing; that was certain. Nonetheless Raven felt sick with worry at the very prospect of the Tamaranean finding out about her unwanted fantasies.

"I'm f-fine, Star. Thank you for your concern," Raven answered, briskly walking past the redhead. Raven paused as Starfire called out her name again, and against her better judgment, Raven turned around. "Yes, Starfire?"

Said alien tapped her fingers together nervously. "I was merely wondering if you would venture to the mall of shopping where we might get our toenails painted with colored acetone? It seemed most enjoyable on the ads I glimpsed on the television."

Raven paused. With the way things had been going recently she had wanted to keep the contact she had with Starfire and Robin to a minimum. It seemed to be the only logical way to control her powers. That being said, it wasn't necessarily fair to either one of them for her to distance herself without an explanation. Maybe if she tried hanging out with them individually everything would be okay.

"Sure. Sounds fun," Raven replied, wincing at herself for referring to a pedicure as something potentially enjoyable.

"Glorious!" Starfire cried, flying forwards and enveloping Raven in a brief hug. The way the girl zipped down the hallway made Raven smile. She would find a way to control these visions; she knew it; anything to maintain her friendship with two of her best friends.

~0~0~0~

Later that night Raven decided to stay awake, insistent on testing her control while Robin and Starfire went at it. Of course this happened to be one of the rare nights where they did not visit the other's room. Just her luck.

Instead of practicing her powers, Raven decided to use the extra time to catch up on some sleep. After about an hour of trying, however, she found her mind was racing far too much to drift off peacefully. Rolling onto her back, Raven stared at her dark ceiling, choosing to think about her interactions with Knowledge and Passion.

Both of them had acted so smug when they mentioned the changeling. Especially Passion, but that was a given. Raven knew her emoticlones represented her surface level emotions, as well as the emotions she didn't even recognize consciously. Could it really be possible that on some level she felt an attraction for Beast Boy?

Their relationship during the first year of becoming Titans was rocky at best. That was expected; they were complete opposites after all. Over time, however, Raven grew to trust him immensely, and she knew he felt the same. It was funny; when she thought about her other friends, her relationship with them was so certain. But with Beast Boy, it was unclear. Is that what made up an attraction?

Raven rolled to her side, shutting her eyes. The next time it happened, she would tell him. The next time she felt Robin's hands on her body, heard Starfire's moans in her ear, she would tell him. Easier said than done, especially when she had no idea what to ask of him.

She wondered what his reaction would be. Would he laugh at her? Tell the others? Beast Boy was immature, but he certainly wasn't cruel. Raven doubted anything so mean spirited would be his initial reaction. In fact he could be rather emotionally wise, when the occasion called for it. It was one of the many things that surprised her about him.

The little things.

Raven opened her eyes. Maybe that was it. She thought over her interactions with him the past couple of months.

He had made her tea once. It was far too weak and rather awful tasting, but he had still made the effort. There was that time when she was reading in ops and he had entered the room intent on playing video games, but upon seeing her there he had popped on his headphones instead. When Cyborg had accidently taken a joke too far in reference to her 'unusual' taste in room decorations, Beast Boy had been the first to tell him to chill out. Even today, when he had taken the time to clean his room and probably purchase incense himself, all so she would feel comfortable. Gestures like that were beyond flattering.

Would she have thought anything if they had come from Cyborg or Robin? The other male Titans were certainly understanding, but somehow she had difficulty believing either of them would think of something so sensitive to make her happy.

So was that it? A poorly made cup of tea and a bottle of incense was what it took to win her over? Her emoticlones seemed so certain when she talked to them, but Raven just felt confused. She wished someone could just tell her what she was supposed to do. She would give anything to feel at least a semblance of control again. Instead she felt completely lost.

For the first time in a long time, Raven sat up, buried her face in her hands and cried.

~0~0~0~

 **Author's Note:** _Next chapter reveals the main villain/villainess for this story that I mentioned before._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** _Lots of BB/Rae begins towards the middle of this chapter and through the rest of the story. Thank you for all your patience, readers!_

~0~0~0~

Over the next couple of days, Raven kept the contact she had with the others to a minimum. She also hadn't visited Nevermore again, mostly due to the fact that she didn't feel like listening to Knowledge and Passion whine about her lack of progress. After the third day, Raven decided she couldn't stay holed up in her room forever, so she made her way to ops around breakfast time, a book in her hand.

When she entered ops, her friends looked up in surprise before quickly casting their eyes downward once more. Raven felt her lips twitch in what would have been a small smile. They probably hadn't wanted to 'scare' her off again. While they couldn't have been farther from the truth about the reason behind her solitude, she found their efforts to keep her from retreating vaguely sweet.

Raven walked over to the kitchen to begin her brew of morning tea. As she placed her kettle onto the stove she murmured a brief 'good morning' to Cyborg, who returned the phrase with a wide grin.

Robin nodded in her direction from his place by the crime scanners. Raven noted he had a rather concerned and analytical expression on his face, but at the same time he appeared to be retraining himself from pressuring her into giving him answers on her recent behavior.

Starfire sat near the kitchen table while spoon-feeding Silkie raw pancake batter. Raven was sure if the alien had not been so focused in her task that she no doubt would have flown in front of the empath and requested for her to participate in some 'girl' activities.

Beast Boy sat on the couch, picking at a plate of tofu eggs beside him as he turned the pages of a comic book. Raven shook her head to herself as she sat down a few feet away from him on the sofa. Of course, it wasn't surprising that the only things he read were comics.

With a content sigh at the unusual peacefulness of the Tower, Raven cracked open her own book and began to read. She was able to get through an entire chapter without being interrupted once, not even by her volatile powers. This feeling of normalcy was exactly what she needed.

"Psst," Beast Boy said out of the corner of his mouth.

 _Speaking of normalcy,_ Raven thought dryly as she did her best to ignore the changeling's distracting antics. When he repeated the noise again a few moments later, Raven glanced up with a murderous expression to let him know she was _not_ in the mood. Instead of saying anything obnoxious, however, Beast Boy handed her a small, folded slip of paper. Out of curiosity Raven took it, and as soon as she had, Beast Boy returned to his reading as if nothing had transpired between them.

Raven turned the note over in her hand, surprised and confused by such an abnormal gesture. What was this, second period geometry? The last time someone had come even close to passing her a note was when she had encountered Malchior among the pages of her book, a memory she would rather forget.

After a few seconds hesitation, Raven finally opened the note to read its contents. Inside she found a list. _Murder in Jamaica Plain. How to Catch a Sociopath. Crime Never Sleeps in Oklahoma City. Nine to Five in Seattle._

Raven's eyes continued to scan the list of mystery movies Beast Boy had written down. At the very bottom of the list there was a single question written by him: _Any of these sound good for our next movie night?_

A small smile appeared on Raven's lips despite herself. She tucked the note into the binding of her book, making a mental note to read the list more thoroughly at a later date. She cast a side-glance at the green Titan next to her, but he was completely absorbed in his reading material once more.

Huh. He really was something else.

Before Raven could ponder more on the enigma that was Beast Boy, the Titan alarm rang, effectively ending the peaceful start to her day. Raven sprang up from her seat on the sofa along with Beast Boy. She turned her attention to Robin who watched the crime scanners with a frown on his face.

"Who is it Robin?" Starfire asked, after she had gently placed Silkie on the floor.

After a brief pause, Robin turned around to face the rest of his team. "Someone who's never been to Jump."

~0~0~0~

Now to be fair, Cheshire wasn't exactly spotted _within_ Jump, but there had been sightings of a strange woman wearing a creepy cat mask in the forest bordering the city. Raven agreed with Robin that it was strange for Cheshire to be spotted here, especially considering she spent a considerable amount of time in Vietnam.

The Titans knew little about her except her main goal was to carry out assassinations, and that she had been ruthless enough to take Speedy down with ease during the fight with the Brotherhood of Evil.

"Remember Titans," Robin said while jumping from tree to tree, "We have to-"

"Be on our guard so we don't get blindsided. We got it, Man," Cyborg said from the ground.

Robin crinkled his forehead in annoyance. "Well it's true. We can never know when she might-ah!" Before he could finish his sentence, Robin was knocked from the branch he was perched on as Cheshire swung into view.

"Robin!" Starfire called, before flying over to catch him.

"Well that was fast," Beast Boy mused as he and the other Titans stared at the kimono-clad villainess. Raven nodded in agreement.

"Well her take down's gonna be even faster!" Cyborg boomed, firing up his sonic cannon. Cheshire barely gave Cyborg her acknowledgement as she swung down, gracefully avoiding the blast and using her body to bend a heavy branch backwards. She released it a moment later, smacking Cyborg in the face with enough force to knock him on his behind.

"Titans, go!" Robin yelled, his position in Starfire's arms making him seem a little less intimidating than usual. Starfire looked down at Robin with affection before placing him on the ground. The Tamaranean's glance alone was enough for Raven to feel her powers churn uncertainly.

 _Oh no you don't,_ she thought, inhaling deeply to regain control. She succeeded in her task, but only barely, for Cheshire's next attack was poised for her. The villainess maneuvered around Raven's black energy attacks easily, coming to stand right in front of the girl. As Cheshire swung her legs out, Raven created blocking pads of dark energy to defend herself. After a few of the Vietnamese woman's attacks, Raven realized she wouldn't win this battle from the ground and took to the air instead.

Cheshire glanced up as Raven floated above her, but her focus on the empath was momentarily forgotten as she narrowly avoided Beast Boy's charge in his rhino form. She flipped over the large green animal so abruptly, that the changeling was caught off guard and barreled into a large tree by mistake.

Starbolts rained down on the girl next, followed by several bird-a-rangs. Once again, Cheshire did not even seem bothered by the attack. Robin, on the other hand, appeared to be very much bothered.

"Who are you after?" he demanded. Cheshire didn't even acknowledge he had spoken as she swiped at him with her claws, shredding his cape in the process. She was momentarily blasted back by a starbolt, and she slammed against a tree before leaping to the side again to avoid Cyborg's fist.

Raven floated down to check on Robin, but saw Starfire was already at his side. Cheshire's claws had reduced his cape to a pile of shreds, and Raven knew how much Robin prided himself on the durability of his cape. She noticed a bit of blood stained his uniform, an injury she might have to check on later.

Raven knew that would have to wait as she sharply flew to the side to avoid having her own cloak shredded by the assassin's steel claws. She levitated to the edge of the clearing to check on a scratched up Cyborg while the others engaged Cheshire once more. Beast Boy flew around the villainess in the form of a hummingbird, using his fleeting form as a momentary distraction. Robin took the chance to whip out his grappling hook to subdue the girl that way. With a determined yell, he released his weapon.

Three things happened almost at once.

First Cheshire, well aware of Robin's attack, swung Beast Boy to the side with her claws. Second, she turned in a neat spin and whacked the end of the grappling hook with her claws so it rotated back in the direction of Robin and Starfire, winding them together so their fronts were pressed against each other. Third, Raven's already shaky control of her powers finally collapsed.

Raven let out a yell of terror as a crack of black energy surged from her body. In the background she heard another cry that wasn't her own. Then Beast Boy called her name. Then everything went white.

When her surroundings finally faded back into view, Raven's eyes widened in horror. She had created several jagged cracks in the forest clearing with her powers, spanning in multiple directions with her as the center. Robin and Starfire were still tied together, but a moment later Robin used a bird-a-rang to cut them loose. Beast Boy seemed a little shaken up but otherwise unharmed. Cyborg…

Raven covered her mouth with her hand, realizing whom the other scream had belonged to. Cyborg had been the closest to her when her powers exploded, so it was he who had suffered the most. His left leg had been reduced to nothing but scrap metal. The cybernetic teen lay on his back. His eye was shut, but he let out a small moan of pain. Raven heard footsteps behind her and spun around, finding it was only her other friends. They all watched her with an uneasiness in their eyes that made her feel sick.

"Raven," Robin said cautiously, as Starfire and Beast Boy ran to Cyborg's side. "What's going on?"

It took several minutes for any of them to notice Cheshire was nowhere to be seen.

~0~0~0~

As soon as the Titans arrived back at the Tower, Cyborg was transferred to the medical wing. Robin had received a call from Bumblebee, which he answered immediately. Raven thought this gave her the proper chance to slip away unnoticed, but Robin's call went quicker than she thought, and the Boy Wonder cornered her.

"Robin," she said, before he had a chance to launch into his lecture, "I know. My powers have been harder to control recently. I should have told you. I never meant for Cyborg to get hurt." Raven felt the familiar feeling of holding back a lump in her throat that could have easily become a sob.

Robin regarded her seriously. "You should have told me," he agreed, his tone firm. "Things could have ended a lot worse today." He sighed, the tension slowly releasing from his body. He glanced back up at her, and this time his expression was full of concern. "What's happening Raven? I thought we were above keeping secrets from each other."

"We are, but this is different. It's not like anything I've ever faced before. It's…personal," she answered, her cheeks reddening.

Robin didn't react except for the slight narrowing of his mask. "I see," he said in a way that meant he was trying to read her.

"I'll find a solution. I promise."

Robin regarded her for a moment, and then nodded. "I believe you."

Raven let out a puff of air. "Thank you."

"But I don't want you going on missions until you've figured this thing out."

Raven felt a pang in her chest. That definitely hurt, but she couldn't say it was unreasonable. She had seriously hurt Cyborg today. She was a hazard.

"I understand."

Robin hesitated before continuing. "Maybe we should have someone stay behind with you. Starfire could-"

" _No_ ," Raven said vehemently. Robin's mask raised in surprise at that. "I agreed to temporarily drop out of missions. I don't need a babysitter too." _And having that person be Starfire wouldn't exactly be conducive to the problem._

"She wouldn't be a babysitter," Robin clarified. "I just don't think you should spend all that time alone without someone to help you get over whatever it is you're struggling with."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "And have only three members of the team out on missions?"

Robin scratched his head. "That's the thing. Bumblebee is sending Speedy to stay with us for a while. She already had him on a mission to track Cheshire, but he recently lost her trail. Guess she's been causing trouble all over. He'll be here in a few days to help us figure out what she's after."

"Seems like perfect timing to assign me a sitter," Raven muttered bitterly.

Robin's lips twitched in a small smile. "That's more for my peace of mind than yours. I don't want you to be alone while you're like this." He reached forward to put his hand on her shoulder, but Raven slyly leaned out of his grasp. She didn't want to take any chances. If Robin noticed her avoidance, he didn't say anything.

"Fine," Raven replied, relenting, "on one condition."

"Let's hear it."

Raven paused, glancing off to the side. "Have Beast Boy stay behind instead."

Robin furrowed his mask in confusion, clearly not expecting this condition. "Beast Boy? Why?"

"I have my reasons," Raven answered evenly, hoping she sounded surer of herself than she felt.

Robin still appeared to be thoroughly confused, but he didn't argue. "Okay. Beast Boy then. I'll go inform him. You should get some rest."

"I will," Raven said, backing away and then turning around to head in the direction of her room. Once she was sure Robin was no longer watching her, she phased a couple floors down into the medical bay. Her eyes found Cyborg immediately. He was propped up on a hospital bed with a metal tray full of mechanical parts in front of him. Apparently he had wasted no time in rebuilding his leg.

When he noticed her presence, he looked up and smiled in her direction. "Hey, Rae. I was wondering when you'd come and visit."

Raven walked to his bedside and regarded him with pain in her eyes. "I don't know what to say," she choked, glancing down at his spare leg.

Cyborg smiled. "What, this? I've been through worse. Should be back to normal in a couple days." His smile faded. "I'm more worried about you."

"You shouldn't be," Raven said, glancing at the floor. "I'm fine."

Cyborg took her hand and squeezed it. "Nah, you're not. It's okay though; I won't ask. You gotta do what you gotta do to figure it out."

Raven could almost feel tears of relief pool in her eyes. How was it that she had been able to make such a good friend? Deciding she didn't trust herself to speak on the topic anymore, she switched gears. "Did you hear about Speedy?"

"Sure did. Could use the extra help. Though I suppose that means there will be twice as much hair gel in this Tower," Cyborg commented, his lip curling at the thought.

Raven smirked. "Didn't even think about that."

Cyborg leaned back, sighing a little. "I'm sure Bee's glad there'll be one less guy in Titans' East Tower for a bit." His expression saddened at the mention of his sort-of girlfriend. Raven was never the type to inquire about her friends' romances. She didn't think it was her business, and she wanted to respect Cyborg's privacy as much as he respected hers.

"Everything will work out," she told him, realizing her statement could have applied to anything they had talked about.

Cyborg smiled. "I think so too, 'lil lady."

~0~0~0~

The following day Cyborg was released from the medical bay and spent most of his time repairing his left leg. Raven had fashioned her cup of herbal tea and drank it down, before reading her book in ops.

The room was surprisingly quiet, so Raven could only assume Beast Boy was gaming in his room, and Starfire was helping Robin with this Cheshire case before Speedy arrived. One of the pros of their relationship was Robin was now more open with the team when discussing missions and criminal files.

After Raven was content with her amount of reading, she slung the book under her arm and walked down the hallway towards the elevator. By this time it was late afternoon, and she often found meditating on the roof at this hour peaceful. As she continued to move down the hallway, she paused when she heard her name being called.

Turning around she discovered Beast Boy clomping towards her, waving wildly. She turned her head to the side, suppressing a blush only for the reason to prove Knowledge and Passion wrong.

"Hey Raven!" Beast Boy said, finally catching up to her. "Mind if I walk with you for a sec?"

"Okay," Raven said, because what else could she say? The two began walking together at a leisurely pace down the hall. There were a few beats of silence before Raven finally noticed Beast Boy was grinning at her. "What?" she asked.

"Oh nothing," Beast Boy sang, folding his arms behind his back.

Raven snorted. "Whatever," she said, content with ignoring him.

Beast Boy's grin grew wider, and a pulse throbbed in Raven's forehead. Finally not being able to contain his smugness any longer, Beast Boy commented, "Robin told me you _specifically_ asked for me to look after you while you're taking a break from missions."

This time Raven _did_ blush, but in anger. Did Robin really have no tact? "You're _not_ my babysitter," she snapped.

"I know, I know," Beast Boy amended as they came to the elevator doors. "I'm just _shocked_ you would pick me is all."

"I'll have nothing to do. Might as well watch movies," Raven covered for herself as they stepped into the elevator.

"Mm- _hmm,_ " Beast Boy replied, either not buying her reason, or he just wanted to be annoying. Her guess was the latter. As the elevator doors closed and they began to rise a couple of floors, Raven caught Beast Boy wince a little, but then shake his head as if to clear it. Not for the first time, Raven observed the bags under his eyes. A moment later Raven felt the crackle of her powers and visualized Robin's arms wrapping around her from behind.

 _I just can't catch a break,_ she thought desperately, her shoulders becoming stiff.

"So what's up with your powers anyway?" Beast Boy asked bluntly, his voice sounding strange.

Raven didn't answer him. She was too focused on trying to ward off the jolts of pleasure racking through her body. The visions came quickly. Sometimes she was a passive observer and sometimes she was seeing through Starfire's eyes. Robin's open mouthed kisses on her neck, Starfire's honeyed cries, fingers disappearing into flesh, shifting bodies and long waving red hair.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked cautiously, taking a step towards her.

"Don't come any closer," Raven hissed, her eyes squeezed shut and her body stiff as a board. _Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos._

Beast Boy stepped closer to her, placing a hand delicately on her lower back. "Rae, what-"

In one violent motion Raven pushed Beast Boy roughly into one of the walls of the elevator and pressed her body against his. Her powers crackled dangerously around them as Raven gave into her lust, burying her face in Beast Boy's neck. The latter let out a strangled sort of squeak in surprise, but didn't make any efforts to push her off. Pressed this tightly against him, Raven could feel every crevice of his body. Her breasts were smashed right into his hard chest, her pelvis lined up with his perfectly. Her demonic side was frustrated that she didn't feel any physical desire from his end, but perhaps that was because he was too bewildered and nervous from her sudden actions.

Another wave of Starfire and Robin's lust flowed through her, and she let out a soft moan, anchoring herself to Beast Boy so it wouldn't overtake her. After several moments she could tell Robin and Starfire had ceased their lovemaking, and a lukewarm wave swept over her this time.

She was still sexually frustrated, but this time it was far more bearable. That being said, Raven was well aware of the position she was in after the feelings of lust left her, and she was dreading the moment she would have to look Beast Boy in the face.

She jerked away from him, clearing her throat several times. She drew up her hood, knowing he could probably see her blush anyway. The elevator dinged, letting them know they had reached the top floor, but neither of them made a move to get out.

After a few more painful moments, Beast Boy finally cleared his throat. "Um…that was…interesting." Raven didn't respond. A few more seconds passed before Beast Boy spoke again, trying to make light of the awkward situation. "I mean I always knew I was a catch with the ears, but still-"

" _Don't_ ," Raven barked, too mortified to attempt to laugh this off.

"Sorry," he muttered. He cleared his throat again. "It's Rob and Star…isn't it?" he asked. "That's what's up with your powers, and why you're so tired too."

Raven's head snapped up to meet his gaze. She was too shocked for a moment to even remember her embarrassment. "How-"

Beast Boy smiled sheepishly, pointing to his ears. "Sensitive hearing, remember?" He rubbed his tired eyes. "Doesn't help that I'm in between both of their rooms. Haven't been able to get a good night's sleep in forever."

Raven's jaw worked, but nothing came out. So she wasn't the only who was affected by Robin and Starfire's latest activities. "I can sense them," she admitted, blushing again at her admission. "I can't sleep; I can't rely on my powers. I'm-" she paused, wondering how to explain this to him, "vulnerable, when they're like this. My demonic side craves contact that I can't have."

"With…Robin?" Beast Boy asked, shuffling his feet.

Raven nodded, turning away from him once more in shame. "Don't say it. I already know how wrong it is. It's something I have to fix on my own."

She made to move out of the elevator, but Beast Boy grabbed her hand before she could leave. When she whipped around to face him again, he immediately let go of her hand, and held his own up in defense. "Maybe you don't have to do it alone," he said, his own face reddening when he recognized the double-meaning.

Raven stared at him. "What?"

Beast Boy shrugged, but he glanced up at the ceiling as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "I mean maybe we could help each other out. Find a way to avoid getting all weirded out every time Robin and Star _do it._ " His eyes met hers and he smiled slightly. "Maybe I could even bring my sleeping bag over sometime and we could have like sleepovers and stuff!"

Raven's eye twitched. _"No."_

Beast Boy frowned. "Why not? That way I can actually get some beauty sleep for once, and you won't be alone when you freak out and-"

"I said no!" Raven snapped, her eyes briefly glowing red before she calmed down. Did he honestly have any idea of what he was asking for? Did he even know the risks? He couldn't possibly recognize how much this was affecting her, and she would rather die than explain the details to him. "I appreciate your offer Beast Boy," she said finally. "But I just can't."

She rushed away before he could say another word.

~0~0~0~

 **Author's Note:** _Hmmm, I wonder if she'll reconsider his offer._


	4. Chapter 4

It was the day before Speedy was to arrive. Cyborg had nearly completed the work that needed to be done to restore his leg in record time. Raven still felt significantly uncomfortable about the pain and inconvenience she had caused him, but whenever she brought it up Cyborg laughed and replied, "I needed the challenge anyway." Then he would brandish a wrench for emphasis.

Robin had given her space, which Raven was surprised by. She figured he would be down her throat ever since her screw up, but he had instead opted to step back and focus on the case with Cheshire.

Beast Boy acted as if nothing odd had happened between them, which Raven appreciated. That being said, that didn't stop him from sending glances her way. The worst part was she had trouble reading them. Were they pitying looks? Maybe he just hoped she would accept his offer? She understood that he would benefit from a good night's sleep, but did he want her to accept just for his benefit? Or did he honestly care about helping her that much? The thought made her feel warm.

The hardest interaction out of all of her teammates was currently with Starfire. If Raven had tried to limit her time with Robin, than she made sure to especially go out of her way to avoid Starfire. What was even more terrible was Raven suspected the girl was beginning to notice. The half-demon hated treating her friend this way, but she felt trapped. This issue of hers was embarrassing, and it had been bad enough admitting it to Beast Boy. How could she possibly survive telling the person she _lived_ the experiences through?

Despite her wariness in her interactions with Starfire, Raven decided to accept the girl's previous offer to get their toenails painted, if only to salvage their bond. The two female Titans had journeyed to the dreaded 'mall of shopping' for such an occasion.

Raven didn't particularly like being touched in general, so having her feet scrubbed by a stranger was certainly an interesting experience. Her powers were behaving rather well that day though, so all in all, it was a win so far.

"Thank you so much for partaking in the pedicure with me, Friend!" Starfire gushed as she squeezed Raven's hand in gratitude.

"No problem, Starfire," Raven responded, wincing against the alien's strength.

As Starfire released the girl's hand, she sat back in her chair and sighed in contentment. "Tell me, why did you do the changing of your mind?"

"I just wanted to spend time with you," Raven answered honestly.

Starfire's eyes lit up. "I too enjoy spending time with you. Perhaps later we can partake in meditation together?"

Raven glanced off to the side. That probably wasn't the best idea. "Actually, I should probably do that alone. My powers…"

"Say no more, Raven. I understand," Starfire said, giggling as polish was applied to her pinkie toe. "Sometimes it is difficult to have your powers connected to you emotions, yes?"

Raven nodded. If anyone could understand that on a personal level, it would be Starfire. "I'm sure you don't always enjoy having to rely on your emotions either."

Starfire gave a small smile in return. "Sometimes it is most inconvenient. Surely you remember when we were stranded on an alien planet? This was before Robin and I had become the item. He was being most difficult with his feelings, and I had not realized this was an 'Earth boy thing.' I was troubled by the mixed signals. I was not able to easily produce starbolts, and my ability to fly was rendered useless for most of our time there."

Raven raised her eyebrows. "I didn't realize."

Starfire nodded, examining her finished toenails, which glimmered with a lime green color. "It was most terrifying, but I knew I would be the o and the k with Robin by my side." Starfire's eyes glazed over in a faraway look, and she sighed dreamily.

Raven's powers spat out without warning, startling some of the workers and effectively spilling her selected color of black polish all over her toes. Raven cursed, reaching down to mop up the mess with a towel, apologizing to the workers as she did so.

"Friend Raven? Are you alright?" Starfire asked, her eyes wide with concern.

Raven nodded and managed a weak smile, but inside she was churning with anxiety. Starfire hadn't even been _near_ Robin, and yet the mere thought of him had produced enough lust to affect Raven's powers.

The symptoms were getting worse.

When the girls returned to the Tower, the sun had mostly set. Raven hadn't felt very hungry since the mall incident, so she bid Starfire good night and retired to her room. Raven lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling for what felt like hours. It was still too early for anyone to have gone to bed, yet she lay in a bundle of nerves waiting for the inevitable tryst of the evening.

She frowned. Is this what her life had become? Hiding from her friends while her powers spiraled out of control without a solution in sight? Raven sat up in her bed. There was a solution. She was just too stubborn to go through with it. But things were getting out of hand.

Determination filling her chest, Raven left her room in search of her solution. Once she was in front of his door, she raised her hand and rapped three times. The door slid open a few moments later revealing a tired Beast Boy. Raven idly wondered if her own face looked as haggard as his. When Beast Boy realized who had knocked on his door, he cocked his head to the side in bemusement. Raven straightened her shoulders and tried to look as dignified as possible.

"Pack your things. You'll be sleeping in my room tonight."

~0~0~0~

Beast Boy dumped his sleeping bag and pillow unceremoniously onto the floor of Raven's room. She watched in mild amusement as he looked around in wonder, not used to being _invited_ into her chamber. Breaking and entering was another matter of course.

"Just don't touch anything," she warned, but he didn't seem to take her threat too seriously. She watched as he fluffed his pillow and adjusted his sleeping bag next to her bed. "You won't be uncomfortable?" she questioned, wondering why she even cared enough to inquire.

Beast Boy shrugged. "I've slept on worse. I can always shift if I have trouble sleeping, but something tells me I'm actually gonna get a good night's rest tonight." He fell back against his pillow, smiling contently.

Raven let a ghost of a smile cross her lips. _He_ might be able to get a better sleep not being quite so close to Starfire and Robin's 'roughhousing,' but she wondered if she would be as fortunate. Only one way to find out. Casting one more glance at Beast Boy to make sure his eyes were closed, Raven reached up and unclasped her cloak before climbing into bed. As her head rested against the pillow, she noted that Beast Boy's mouth was already hanging open in sleep. She empathized with him. He must be just as exhausted as she was. Shutting her eyes, she prayed she would find a peaceful slumber.

Thankfully she had little trouble falling asleep, but controlling her dreams was another matter. Green-gloves began to touch her bare body, and she recognized through her muddled, sleep-deprived mind that Robin and Starfire were probably being intimate again. She moaned in half pain, half pleasure as her demonic side fed on lust that was not her own. She didn't know how much more of this she could take.

Then, suddenly, it stopped, and everything was at peace.

Raven's eyes opened again in the morning, and she discovered she had just had her first real night's sleep in several weeks. She could have cried in relief. She craned her neck to the side, figuring Beast Boy was still asleep in his sleeping bag. She wondered if he'd had just as restful a night. When his pillow came into view, she frowned when she discovered his body was not in his sleeping bag.

That was when she fell the deep purr against her stomach. Letting out a gasp in surprise, Raven nearly fell off the bed in her bewilderment. Beast Boy, in his cat form, let out a shriek of alarm and then morphed back into his human self.

"What do you think you're doing?" Raven demanded while tugging the sheet even more over her body.

Beast Boy sat back over the blankets, his bare, green feet flat against the blanket. He looked at her in bafflement. "You woke me up last night! You were making all these noises and thrashing around, and I just thought about when we were in the elevator and…and…" he paused, looking a bit sheepish, "No one can resist the kitty."

Raven blinked. "You're telling me you slept as a cat the _entire_ night?" she inquired, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I promise!" Beast Boy said, nodding earnestly.

Raven narrowed her eyes in thought. She had woken up feeling refreshed. Maybe Beast Boy was on to something…but it was so improper! Raven lifted her hand to rub her temple. On the other hand, last night was the first night in Azar knew how long since she was able to get any sort of decent sleep. It had been heavenly.

Raven sighed, knowing she had come to her conclusion. " _No one_ can know," she emphasized, still watching him warily.

Beast Boy nodded. "Right. Gotcha. My lips are sealed!"

Raven shook her head to herself before reaching for her cloak on the floor and slipping out of her bed. She could sense Beast Boy's eyes watching her from her bed, and she felt her face heat up. She was glad her back was to him.

"Do you mind?" she asked dryly, feeling a twinge of satisfaction as he squeaked in surprise and rolled off her bed. Raven wrapped her cloak around herself, glad for the safety of cover once more. She glanced at Beast Boy, watching him as he put on his shoes. "I didn't realize you slept in your animal forms often," she mused, trying to make light conversation.

"I don't really, only when I need to," he explained from the ground. "Only times I have trouble doing it is when I'm completely out, but I got a pretty good sleep before you woke me up with…um…" he gulped, not quite knowing how to describe her lust filled state.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Raven said instead, not wanting to go into specifics.

"It's alright. Better than hearing Rob and Star go at it ya know?" He sent her this dazzling grin that made her blink a couple of times. Was Passion trying to push into her consciousness? Damn her.

"Yo, Raven!" Cyborg called from outside her door, making both of them jump. "Speedy's here."

Raven gazed at Beast Boy, watching his eyes fill with alarm. "I'll be right there," she called back, already shoving Beast Boy towards her window.

As the changeling clambered over her pane, he turned back around, sending her a devilish grin. "I'll see you tonight then," he said, giving an exaggerated wink for effect.

Raven gave him the final push out her window.

~0~0~0~

"I've been tracking her for a couple of months now," Speedy explained in ops later that day. "Bee's been up my ass about it because it's taking longer than I thought to detain her. Guess Bee misses me after all, who'da thought?" Speedy smirked.

"She thought maybe we could help you, given that Cheshire's been spotted around Jump recently," Robin commented.

"Always strength in numbers," Cyborg added. He subconsciously flexed his new and improved left leg.

Speedy sighed. "Look, I really appreciate your guys' help, but I only came out here on Bee's orders. I really think I can handle Cheshire myself."

"Is that why she's still at large?" Raven droned, unable to resist pointing out the obvious.

Speedy huffed but didn't offer up an explanation.

"No one likes asking for help," Robin told Speedy, coming to stand by him, "but Cheshire just became our problem too. We can't have her near the city. She's too much of a threat."

"Plus it's not like we wanna mess with Bee," Beast Boy said. "I'd rather not get stung, thanks." Raven watched as the changeling sent a rather apologetic look in Cyborg's direction. Curious.

"Fine," Speedy agreed, but he didn't look pleased about it. "We should start tracking her again soon though. She usually comes out at dusk."

Starfire nodded. "Yes, let us make with the haste!"

Everyone but Beast Boy and Raven started moving towards the door. Speedy, noticing the hesitation of the other Titans turned around, his mask lifting in inquisition. "You guys alright?"

"We…have our own mission," Raven explained lamely. Speedy, however, just shrugged, and then proceeded to exit ops with the other Titans.

Beast Boy turned to Raven after the others had left. "So…now what?"

"Now, you leave me alone while I meditate," Raven replied, levitating into lotus position.

"Oh, come _on_ ," Beast Boy whined, plopping down next to her. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Something that involves minimal noise. Why don't you try reading?"

Beast Boy grumbled something, but nonetheless, got up to retrieve a comic book. He sat down crossed legged on the sofa, leafing through the pages aimlessly while Raven balanced her mind.

She assumed about half an hour had past-Beast Boy wasn't known for his patience-before he prodded her in the side. She cracked an eye open in irritation, drifting to the ground as she did so.

"You done yet?" Beast Boy asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, I am now," she responded wryly.

"Great! I'll go make us some dinner, and then we can flip on a movie."

" _No_ tofu in mine."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes as he bounded over to the kitchen. "Yeah, yeah."

Raven rose from the floor and sat down on the sofa. She would have helped Beast Boy in the kitchen, but both of them knew she would be more of a hazard than an aid. She craned her head to see outside and discovered the sun had completely set. Just how long were the others planning on tracking Cheshire?

"Here ya go," Beast Boy said, plunking a bowl of udon noodle soup onto her lap. He sat down next to her with his tofu burger, and then picked up the remote and flipped on the television.

"Thanks," Raven said, delicately slurping the noodles up with the chopsticks she had been provided.

Beast Boy mustered a noise in response, but his mouth was currently crammed with tofu burger. Swallowing heavily, he gestured to the TV. "Any requests?"

"You're letting _me_ decide?" Raven asked.

" _This_ time," he responded cheekily.

Raven rolled her eyes, thinking back to the note he had passed to her earlier. "I guess the sociopath one seemed interesting."

"I always knew I liked a woman who's into sociopaths," Beast Boy joked, earning a glare from the empath.

About twenty minutes into the movie, Raven found it wasn't as interesting as she had hoped it would be. The premise was intriguing, but the execution of the film was a little bizarre. Beast Boy must have gotten the same vibe, for the two began wrapped up in light conversation while the movie provided background noise.

"…Yeah so I guess they're just, like, seeing other people now," Beast Boy continued, referring to Cyborg and Bumblebee's relationship.

"I suppose it's for the best," Raven mused.

"What do you mean?" he questioned, scooting closer to her.

"Cyborg and Bumblebee have very similar personalities," Raven explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sometimes that doesn't work so well for people." She paused. "It doesn't matter. It's not really our business anyway."

"You saying opposites attract, Rae-Rae?" Beast Boy teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

She gave him a deadpan look. "Not always. Sometimes they can go horrible wrong."

Beast Boy huffed, slumping against the back of the sofa. "You're such a downer."

Raven frowned, finding the comment had offended her. She cast her eyes downwards. "That's me, I suppose," she mumbled.

She felt his arm swing around her shoulders. "Aw, come on, Rae. I'm just joking. You know I think you're loads of fun." He gave her one of those grins again and she felt herself shudder. She realized it had nothing to do with his grin. Those feelings…they were coming back.

"Everything okay?" Beast Boy asked, removing his arm.

"I'm fine," Raven told him, but her mind was racing. There was no way these feelings were from Robin and Starfire. They were too far away, and even if her symptoms had gotten stronger, Beast Boy had helped her settle her emotions last night. Yet she still felt a small spark of lust that wasn't her own…

"You sure?" he asked again. "Maybe I could shift or…"

"That won't be necessary. It's passed." Raven glanced over, and it suddenly occurred to her how close they were sitting. She moved away from him, almost at the exact moment the ops door slid open.

"Well, that was a huge waste of time," Cyborg said tiredly, then paused, discovering the lights were off. He flipped a switch, and ops flooded with light. "Oh," he said, noticing Beast Boy and Raven, "sorry y'all, didn't realize you were watching a movie in here."

"It's okay, Dude. We weren't really watching it that much anyway," Beast Boy told him as he and Raven got up to meet the cybernetic teen.

"Oh really?" Cyborg responded with a raise of his eyebrow.

Raven watched curiously as Beast Boy's entire face became beet red, a rather unflattering color against his green skin. "Very funny," she heard him mutter.

Starfire flew in seconds later with Robin and Speedy. Like Cyborg, all three Titans seemed completely wiped.

"Cheshire was most cunning," Starfire explained to Raven and Beast Boy when they gave them curious looks.

"We still learned nothing about what she's after," Robin said, the frustration evident in his voice.

"I told you. That's why I've had trouble tracking her all this time," Speedy said, pulling a twig out of his hair. He grunted. "Ugh, my do is ruined!"

Cyborg turned to Speedy. "You're lucky that's all it was. She got you separated from us for quite some time. How did you-?"

"I'm crafty," Speedy said, brushing him off.

"Well it doesn't appear as though she's leaving the area any time soon," Robin observed. "I don't get it. She's supposed to be this slick assassin. If her target is in the city, why hasn't she crossed the border?"

"Even if her target does not reside in the city, she has done little but wander through the forest," Starfire added.

"Weird," Beast Boy said.

Raven felt uneasiness coming from Speedy, which she found odd, but she didn't think anything of it. Not until Robin and Cyborg offered for him to stay at the Tower, at least.

"Actually," Speedy said, scratching the back of his neck, "Bee's got a place hooked up for me."

Robin frowned. "She never mentioned anything about that to me. I assumed you would be staying in the Tower for the next couple of days."

Speedy shrugged, already backing out of the room. "Huh, she's a mystery that one. I'll just see you guys in the morning. We can head out again first thing."

After he had gone, the other Titans looked to each other in confusion. Raven noticed how the rest of her friends seemed to drop his odd behavior rather easily, even Robin, but she just chalked that up to how exhausted they all were. Raven, however, didn't quite let it go, considering she could literally feel how unsettled Speedy had been. He was hiding something from them. Something he might not have even told Bumblebee.

"I'm definitely heading in for tonight, y'all," Cyborg said, letting out a bear of a yawn. "See you bright and early."

"Good night, Friend Cyborg!" Starfire called to him as he left. The Tamaranean turned to Robin and whispered something in his ear. Raven didn't catch what it was, but judging by Beast Boy's uncomfortable expression and Robin's smirk, she could guess.

"We're going to turn in for the night too," Robin said suddenly, and Raven fought the urge to snort. His mask met Raven's eyes. "We need to talk soon about your progress."

Raven felt a twinge of annoyance, but she buried it. "You know where to find me," she answered unenthusiastically. When Robin and Starfire left, Raven could feel Beast Boy's eyes on her. "What?"

"Are you gonna go to bed?"

Raven sighed. "I don't know. I'm not exactly tired, but I imagine Starfire and Robin will…" she cleared her throat uncomfortably, "start soon."

Beast Boy nodded. "Yeah, hehe, um, probably." He gazed out the window and then an idea seemed to pop into his mind. "We could, like, get out of the Tower for a bit."

"It's fairly late to be out."

"We don't have to go out then. We could just sit by the shore or something," he suggested.

Raven thought it over. Right outside the Tower probably wasn't far enough to avoid Robin and Starfire's lust entirely, but it could be far enough that the effects might be less violent. Either way she would have Beast Boy there, and Robin _was_ expecting some sort of progress on her end. How would she know if she didn't test it out?

"Alright," Raven agreed, to Beast Boy's delight.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

 _For my readers who read my story "The Okaara Gem," you should check out Glad Vercerka's artwork on Deviantart. He is in the process of making a visual comic of that story! I just saw page one and it looks incredible. Here's the link: /gladvercerka_

~0~0~0~

Raven ran her hands down her back and over her bottom, smoothening out her cloak so she would have somewhere to sit that didn't involve her getting sandy. Beast Boy, unbothered by the mess, plopped down beside her, using the large boulder behind them as a backrest. Raven made herself comfortable next to him, watching as he removed his shoes to dig his bare feet in the sand. The water gently rolled over his green toes, making them wriggle at the cold contact. Raven watched, mesmerized.

"Didn't know you had a foot fetish, Rae," Beast Boy said, causing her to snap from her trance and whack the back of his head.

"I don't," she snapped, then collected herself. "I just find it odd that I've been seeing your feet more than usual."

"Are you surprised they're green?" he asked jokingly. "Look, my hands are too. Shocker." He removed his gloves and showed his hands to Raven, his palms facing upwards. Raven furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at them. She was positive she had never seen his hands before, but they seemed eerily familiar to her. She shook her head to clear it, choosing instead to glance up at the stars. "It's a nice night," Beast Boy observed.

"Yes," Raven agreed. She felt her stomach flip as a warm sensation tumbled through it, and she shifted closer to Beast Boy instinctually.

"Do you ever wish for like, a day where you could be something other than a superhero?" he asked.

"I like being a hero."

"Enough not to give it up?"

"It's not like I have other options anyway."

"You always have options, Rae."

"Not like you do. You're a people person. Anyone would be happy to give you a job."

"I bet you'd be surprised at the number of people who'd hire you."

"Oh?" she asked skeptically.

"Yup. Lots of people want to learn more about you. Spend time with you."

Raven snorted. "Name one person."

Beast Boy chuckled. "Me. Duh. Why do you think I'm always knocking at your door?"

Raven looked at him. _Really_ looked at him. She looked at his mouth and the way his fang jutted out to the side when he grinned. She watched the curve of his jaw, the way it trailed all the way to his ears. Those ears of his always seemed far too large for his head, but she supposed now that she really studied them, they suited him. His eyes were friendly, impossibly so. They held an eagerness that Raven was sure was partly due to the fact that she had agreed to sit outside with him. Small steps to get her out of her room. He was right; he _was_ always knocking on her door. Maybe because he hoped for small moments like this. Maybe he had more patience than Raven gave him credit for.

"Gar," she whispered, finding she didn't know what to say next. She swallowed, feeling mixtures of lust pour through her body again. "We should get back," she said finally, the words coming out more strained than she meant.

Beast Boy's content expression shifted to one of worry. "Yeah. I think that's a good idea," he said, his ears twitching.

~0~0~0~

Raven removed her cloak as soon as she got to her room and levitated to her bed. She moved into lotus position, chanting her mantra to herself as sweat began to bead on her forehead. She cursed herself for forcing Beast Boy to shower quickly, so he wouldn't trail sand into her room. She had thought she could handle this without him but discovered quickly she was mistaken.

Starfire was moving on top of Robin, painfully slowly. Raven could feel every roll of the girl's hips, and her legs tightened in response. Abandoning any attempts at meditation, Raven took to pacing her floor in just her leotard, her hands gripping her head.

 _This isn't you, this isn't you, this isn't you,_ she chanted over and over again.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked from the hallway, knocking twice.

Raven charged over to the door, using her powers to reach her arms right through it, and then swiftly phased Beast Boy through the metal barrier. He let out a yelp of alarm, clearly not expecting to enter the room this way.

"Raven I-"

"Touch me," she gasped, her eyes practically seeing red as her demonic side churned inside her. Beast Boy gazed at her wildly, and then unsurely reached out and gave her a gentle poke in the side. Raven growled in frustration and then threw her arms around him, crushing him in a bear hug. After a few moments, his arms came around her to return the hug.

With her ear pressed against his collarbone, she could hear his heart beating rapidly in his chest. Although he was acting as her anchor, something about this still felt morally dirty and wrong. He was her friend for Azar's sake.

"You should shift," she murmured softly into his ear, and she could swear she felt him shiver.

"Uh, okay," he answered, before transforming into his signature tiny green kitty.

Raven took him over to her bed where she got underneath the covers. She made sure he had a pocket for air, as she watched him settle in next to her, kneading the mattress. He rubbed his head against her stomach, and even though Raven could still feel Starfire's lust coursing through her, it was maintained for the moment.

She wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but when she woke the next morning feeling well rested, she glanced down to find Beast Boy blinking at her and purring.

The next couple of days went like this. Each morning Robin would request a report from Raven, then he, Cyborg, Starfire and Speedy would spend the day tracking and occasionally engaging Cheshire only to return empty handed. During their absences Raven and Beast Boy would do mundane activities together after Raven had meditated. Sometimes they would watch movies, other times they would get lunch and then read side by side. They talked a lot. Raven found that despite Beast Boy's short attention span, he could be very perceptive.

Every night after the Titans returned, Speedy insisted on sleeping at this 'location' Bee had allegedly set up for him. Every night Robin and Starfire would meld together. Every night Beast Boy slept against Raven in his cat form.

Then, one morning, the routine changed. Raven had insisted she was ready to return on missions, but Robin was still unconvinced. He finally relented, under the condition that she complete one of their more difficult obstacle courses, and if Beast Boy felt she had completed it without her powers spinning out of control, she would be ready.

"Is Beast Boy really the best judge for something like this?" Raven asked Robin skeptically.

Robin sighed. "We won't be around to help you. We're _so_ close to getting a lead on Cheshire, I can feel it. You'll just have to trust him."

Beast Boy smirked as Raven regarded him with distain.

"Now that I think about it," Robin added, "Beast Boy, you should have Raven time you as well. Wouldn't want you getting sloppy."

Now it was Raven's turn to smirk as Beast Boy sputtered in disbelief. Robin wouldn't have any of it, however, for his mind was in mission mode. After the other Titans had left, Raven and Beast Boy made their way to the training area on the mainland.

Raven, wanting to get this over, went first. She found it mildly insulting that Robin hadn't just believed her when she said she was ready, but she understood his caution. He didn't want anyone else getting hurt. As she weaved through the obstacle course and used her powers with ease, however, she couldn't help but feel a little smug. This course was child's play compared to what she was used to.

When she finished, she floated down beside Beast Boy, her forehead covered in a light sweat from her concentration. She pulled down her hood and lifted her hair up, shutting her eyes as she combed through her slightly sodden hair. When she opened them again she found Beast Boy staring at her. "What?" she asked, self-conscious.

"Nothing!" Beast Boy said, glancing hurriedly down at the control panel.

Raven decided to let it go. "How did I do?"

"You got a great time," Beast Boy admitted. "Bet I can beat it though," he added, grinning madly.

"Try it," Raven shot back, feeling competitive. Must have been due to the much-needed release of endorphins.

"You won't be able to keep your hands off me after this," he stated, already moving towards the start of the obstacle course.

Raven was glad he could no longer see her face. She wasn't sure if he had even realized how bold his statement was, or if he just thought it wasn't a big deal. Either way, his comment left her cheeks feeling like a hot burner.

The timer began, and Beast Boy shifted expertly from animal to animal. Raven could tell he was really trying to beat her time, and he might have succeeded, if he hadn't been blasted back a couple of feet by one of the lasers. He finished with a time a few seconds over hers.

"It's probably rigged," he said flippantly through his heavy breathing.

"Sure." Raven supposed she could humor him. She watched as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, before going over to a bench and gulping down water. It made sense that he was more worn out than she was. Whenever he had to fly it was his own body doing the work.

"Damn," Beast Boy said, glancing up at the sky. "It's almost dinner time already. Wanna order out?" he asked, turning to her.

"That's fine."

"I can get half cheese, half pepperoni."

"I'm fine with just cheese."

"You sure?" Beast Boy inquired, wiping the back of his neck. "I get it with vegan cheese."

Raven shrugged, realizing the lackadaisical gesture was so utterly Beast Boy. "I can try something new."

"Alright," Beast Boy responded, giving her a strange smile. "I'll call and then we can shower and pick it up after."

"Okay."

~0~0~0~

Raven sighed as she felt the water run down her sweat soaked body. Never in a million years did she think she could spend this much time with Beast Boy and not lose her temper. He still irked her occasionally, but these days she found she couldn't really get that upset with him. In fact, more recently he had made her feel…happy. She was usually content to be around her friends, but she had actually caught herself thinking about future activities the two of them could do together. It was unnerving.

Raven finished her shower and dressed herself in the bathroom, then started walking in the direction of her room. She paused for a moment when a wave of lust hit her. It was powerful enough that she assumed Robin and the others must have returned. After she briefly called Cyborg, however, she found they were all still out looking for Cheshire. Odd.

Another wave hit her, and Raven gasped, feeling her knees shake. She began marching in the direction of Beast Boy's room, instinctually looking for the comfort he provided. It took her several knocks on his door for her to discover he was not inside.

"Beast Boy," she called, feeling desperate as a third wave swept over her. Skin. Green skin. "Where are you?" She halted her steps outside the boys' bathroom, and she could distinctly hear the sounds of the shower. "Beast Boy?" she questioned, knocking once.

"Huh?" Beast Boy's voice returned from the other side of the door. "Raven?"

"Are you almost done?"

"Wha-yeah, yeah! I'm just, I was just…showering."

Raven frowned. Something was off about his voice. At least the waves had stopped. "Alright. I'll go pick up the pizza."

"Ok…thanks!"

Raven shook her head. _Boys,_ she thought. She would never understand them. Once she had gotten the pizza, she met Beast Boy in ops. His hair was still damp from the shower, and she found his appearance sort of…endearing. Ugh, she was getting soft.

"Thanks for getting this," Beast Boy said, taking a big bite out of his slice.

"Don't mention it," Raven replied, biting her own piece. It wasn't bad, but nothing could beat real cheese.

"I guess they're out kind of late tonight," Beast Boy observed.

"Maybe they found something," Raven suggested.

Beast Boy took another bite. "Maybe."

They ate in silence for a few moments. Raven covered her mouth as she yawned. She was surprised by how suddenly fatigue hit her.

"I feel you," Beast Boy said, finishing his pizza. "I'm beat. Wanna go to bed after this?"

Raven started. The casual way he had said that, like it was the most natural thing in the world, startled her. It gave her this feeling, not necessarily a good or bad feeling; it was just…different.

"Okay," she answered; although it felt weird for them to enter her room when the others weren't already home.

Beast Boy must have really been exhausted, for as soon as they entered Raven's room he leapt onto her bed in his kitten form. He cocked his head to the side and let out a content meow when he saw her approach.

"Please, make yourself comfortable," she said dryly, but her lips twitched into a smile.

She watched as he kneaded her violet fitted sheet with his paws, until he settled into the meatloaf position that cats enjoyed so much. The way he stared at her was slightly intimidating, and Raven had half a mind to snap at him to turn around while she removed her cloak. Instead, feeling bold, Raven kept her eyes on Beast Boy's as her hands drifted up to unclasp her blue cover. The cloak billowed as it fell to the floor with a thud. Still keeping her eyes on him to test his reaction, Raven stepped on the heel of one of her shoes to remove it. Then, using her now bare foot, she slid it up her naked calf to step down on the heel of the other one.

All the while Beast Boy watched her without flinching. It occurred to Raven that to some, her actions could be considered flirting. She didn't know how she felt about that, but she was sure Passion would have a few choice words for her later.

Raven walked delicately over to the bed, finally breaking eye contact with him as she lifted the sheet. She slid under the covers, feeling a slight spark of static electricity along her uniform. She kept the cover lifted, giving him the chance to hop under with her and nestle against her stomach.

She shut her eyes, lulled by the sound of his gentle breathing. Lifting her hand, she hesitated over him for only a moment before threading her fingers in his fur. She scratched along his back and behind his ears. A deep rumbling resonated within his throat. She smiled to herself as his breathing slowed. He must have fallen asleep. The last thing she remembered before drifting off herself was that she had turned over on her right side, so he warmed her back.

She dreamed again, but this time it was different.

She usually had visions of green-gloved hands touching her body in a passionate and feverish state. She still dreamed of green. There was always green. This was the first time that green _hands_ had touched her though. They roamed over her body with a laziness that made her ache pleasantly. There was no itchy fire, only a dull need that pulsed every time they moved over her. She shuddered as they travelled over her hip, tracing circles across her bare flesh.

There was a blaze building in her stomach and between her legs. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her hand fisted the sheet beside her. She let out a small gasp and suddenly she was awake. She waited a second for the cold wave to wash over her.

But it stayed warm.

She kept her eyes closed, knowing if she opened them she would only see a pitch-black room. She sighed, moving her arm a little, and realized another's was on top of her.

She knew instantly it was Beast Boy. Instead of being alarmed, as she had been when she had first discovered him in her bed, she was intrigued. He had mentioned that he couldn't stay in his animal form when he was in a deep sleep, and by the way he barely moved, she would guess that was what had happened. No, she was more fascinated at how he could have entered her dreams in a way that only Robin and Starfire had.

She gave an experimental shift of her body, and her mouth parted in understanding as another wave of warmth pounded through her. Her face heated when she felt him, hard against her lower back. The lust she had felt earlier in the day, Hell, through the past week even, had been coming from him.

For her.

A moan echoed deep in Raven's throat as she nearly saw red. She didn't even try to fight back as the lust from her demonic side consumed her. She wanted it to consume her. She wanted it to take her until there was nothing left.

Raven pushed her backside against Beast Boy, relishing as he shifted a bit. His arm resting across her body stiffened for a moment, and then relaxed.

 _This is wrong,_ she thought absently, but she was drunk with lust and no longer cared.

She slowly turned her body around until her front was pressed against him. She kept her eyes closed as her arm found his hip, using it as an anchor to pull her closer. She felt him breath slowly against her cheek, and that was all the encouragement she needed. Her lips found his in the dark, meeting him softly and moving against him impossibly slow. She felt his body go rigid for a second, but she continued her movements on his lips. She smiled as he started to respond to her, knowing he was awake.

Their slow actions became more heated as she craned her neck to deepen the kiss. She felt his bottom fang poke her lip as his own lips parted. She opened her mouth eagerly to meet his tongue, encouraging him with her own. He was a little messy, but then again, she had never kissed anyone before, so who was she to judge? If anything, his eagerness made her want him more.

She bit his bottom lip gently, and she gave a small gasp when he growled and rolled her onto her back so he hovered over her. She felt him, pressed against her pelvis, and she gave her hips a little twist.

He groaned and tried to draw away from her, but she held him in place. "Raven," he said, his voice a little husky from sleep and desire.

"Shh," she whispered, putting pressure on his neck, so his head dipped to meet her lips again. He kissed her, his tongue moving against hers for a few more moments before he attempted to pull away once more.

"Wait-" he tried again.

"Gar, _please_ , we can talk later," Raven said, lifting her head up a third time.

This time, however, Beast Boy rolled away from her, and with the absence of his body she felt dreadfully cold, both inside and out.

"I just need to stop. I can-" he paused, cursing, "I can _smell_ it all over you. We just gotta stop. Kay?"

Raven stared at him, common sense reentering her mind. And with common sense, came morality.

"I, um, really like you," he continued, but every word he said just made her feel even more sick. "Maybe we should just slow things down, if that's okay."

She shook her head. Once. Twice. This wasn't happening. She didn't know what to feel anymore, but here he was saying he felt something for her, and all she could think about was how she had just used him.

"That wasn't me," she blurted. "I'm sorry I gave you the wrong idea. It's my powers. I've been feeding off your lust and…it was selfish."

Beast Boy shook his head, and she thought she could see him smiling through the darkness. "That totally was you. I mean yeah, like 'demoned' up a bit, but I thought that was kinda hot," he said shyly.

"Gar, think about it. I've only come to you when I've been feeding off someone's lust. What we just did…that wasn't real."

"You're saying you don't feel anything for me?" he asked carefully.

She was silent.

"I know you do, Rae-Rae," he said, shifting closer. His nose brushed her neck and she shivered. "Cuz _I'm_ the one you wanna touch when you get in the mood."

She could just _tell_ he was waggling his eyebrows, so she half-heartedly shoved him away. "Even if I _did_ feel something for you, how can you be so sure that was me a few minutes ago? My powers I…" she trailed off, thinking she needed to have a serious talk with Passion. "I need some time to think about this."

It could have been the trick of the dark, but she thought she saw his shoulders slump. "Okay, Rae. Just…promise me you won't be too hard on yourself, alright?"

She heard him shift back into a cat, but this time he stayed on his side of the bed. Raven turned back away from him, resting her face against her pillow. How could he still be thinking about her when she had basically rejected him? How could he be so sure what had happened a few minutes ago was real?

She was missing something, and she had a feeling Passion was hiding it from her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** _Please read._

 **New Story Currently in the Works:**

" _ **Growing Up" –**_ _This is NOT a sequel to my story "After Things Change," but the timeline will occur after this conclusion of that story. (Really the only thing keeping this from being a sequel is that Raven and Beast Boy have not been an item yet in this story, but it could be considered one if you take out that fact.) It will be in third person, Beast Boy's POV. It will be rated M for some mild adult themes and for some heavy violence._

 _ **Summary**_ _: Five years after the Titans have split up, Beast Boy attends Nightwing and Starfire's wedding; only to find everyone around him has settled down. Except him. And the half-demon he still occasionally talks to via communicator. Witness the Titans' story of reconnection as they navigate growing up, marriage, and parenthood._

 _Note: This story will draw influence from the comics, as well as a few animated DC movies, specifically a famous and awesome scene from Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, with my own twist, of course. You know which scene I'm talking about. ;)_

 _This will be one of my longer stories._

 _Finally, this fic will place a heavy emphasis on the growing romance and the deepening relationship between Beast Boy and Raven, but it will also include an adventure subplot, which acts as the driving force for the Titans to reconnect._

 _Hint: Gotham. You won't be disappointed._

 _If you are interested please review this story saying so. If you would like a more detailed description of what I have in mind, feel free to PM me._

 _Last thing: gladvecerka is the name of the artist who is drawing comics for my story "The Okaara Gem." I believe I spelled his name wrong last time._

~0~0~0~

Raven would have visited Nevermore after Beast Boy had snuck out of her room the following morning, but Robin had insisted the team come together in ops for a meeting. Raven sat down on the sofa next to Cyborg, making sure she avoided eye contact with Beast Boy even though he desperately tried to catch her attention. Once everyone was seated comfortably, Raven noticed for the first time that Speedy was not among them.

"Uh, where's Speedy?" Beast Boy asked the question for her.

Robin huffed in irritation. "That's what the meeting's about. He disappeared on us last night. _Again."_

"How can you be sure he's not in trouble?" Raven questioned.

"The dude called us last night once we got back," Cyborg explained. "Said he was sorry for dipping, but he didn't give any other explanation."

"Perhaps he is just at the location Bumblebee has set up for him?" Starfire suggested.

"That's the thing," Robin cut in, "I called Bumblebee this morning and she told me she didn't know anything about another location for Speedy."

Cyborg whistled. "Damn."

"I still don't see what the big deal is. Just call him," Beast Boy commented.

"I have tried to reach him several times and he has not answered," Starfire told the changeling.

Raven figured it was time she spoke up. "That first night, I could feel him. He was hiding something. I didn't think anything of it at the time, especially since my powers haven't exactly been the most reliable lately. It was foolish of me not to say anything."

"It doesn't matter now," Robin said, brushing her guilt off, "We need to find him, and fast. Raven, you mentioned you've got a handle on your powers now?"

Raven nodded.

Robin returned her nod, his face in leader mode. "Good. I want you to track down Speedy. You might be able to sense him. Beast Boy can help you track. Starfire and I will continue to hunt down Cheshire; I have a few ideas of where she could be, based on the last time we engaged her. Cyborg, I want you to take the T-Ship to Titans' East. Bumblebee deserves to know what's going on. Maybe she can help."

Raven watched as Cyborg's shoulders slumped. It was subtle enough that Robin didn't notice it, but she could tell the half-robot wasn't eager to see his ex-girlfriend face to face so soon after their break up.

"Alright Titans, let's-"

"Robin," Raven interrupted. "Do you mind if I have a word first?"

Robin hesitated, but then decided her reasoning must have been important. The two made their way out into the hallway. As Raven passed through the doors she saw Beast Boy look away, and she tried not to let that bother her.

"What is it?" Robin asked as soon as they were away from the others.

"I know I said my powers were under control," she said carefully, "but there's one last thing I need to do."

Robin's mask narrowed. "If you aren't ready than say so. I can't risk you injuring Beast Boy."

"Trust me," Raven told him. "He's the _last_ person I could hurt."

Robin raised an eyebrow beneath his mask, but he didn't ask for an explanation. "How long do you need?"

Raven smirked. "Give me twenty minutes."

~0~0~0~

As soon as Raven's feet touched down in Nevermore, Passion was there, smirking at her. "Well, well," Passion began, "aren't we-" Raven's hand darted out into Passion's hood, finding her ear and then using it to drag her to a location that wasn't so out in the open. "Ow!" Passion cried. "Owie, ow, ow, ow!"

"Cut the act," Raven said, finally releasing the girl's ear. "What are you hiding?"

Passion rubbed the side of her head in irritation. "Nothing you don't already know in _here_ ," she replied, pointing at Raven's heart.

"Spare me," Raven snapped, smacking her hand away. "You've been playing with my lust. I don't even know what's me anymore."

Passion huffed. "You never give any of us enough credit," she moped, crossing her arms.

"Pardon?"

Passion raised an eyebrow. "Happy, Timid, Bravery, Knowledge, _Me._ You always just treat us like individual emotions."

"That's what you are, remember?" Raven retorted. "Each of you is _one_ emotion."

"But every emotion has multiple layers," Passion replied. She perked up. "Huh. Guess I can be pretty smart too. I'll have to rub it in Knowledge's face later."

"Care to explain?" Raven inquired, impatient.

Passion puffed out her chest. "Take me for example. I'm your passion, Raven, but your passion can be multiple things. Affection and lust just happen to be the most relevant parts of me."

"How exactly does that help me?"

"I'm getting to that. I feed off of powerful urges of lust. Affection's nice and all, but lust is what gets your demonic side kicking," Passion explained, winking. "When you feel Starfire's lust overpowering your own, you want to be with Robin, because _she_ wants Robin. I have to admit I was a little blindsided when they first started shacking up, so I may have accidently pictured us with Robin a little _too_ much." Passion twirled her fingers sheepishly.

Raven rolled her eyes. "I got that."

Passion pouted. "Hey, I got it under control! All I had to do was redirect it to someone else, someone you already felt affection for."

"You mean Beast Boy?"

"Well, I'm glad you finally admit it."

Raven paused, suddenly feeling uncertain. "So last night…that was me?"

"Duh! Weren't you listening?"

Raven let out a small sigh of relief. "So I wasn't using him."

Passion giggled. "Not in the sense that you mean, but judging what we felt last night I wouldn't mind if _he_ used _us."_

Raven fought down a blush. "I always forget subtlety is not one of your strong suits. Thanks for your help, though." The empath moved away from Passion, but then paused. "Why wasn't Knowledge able to tell me this?"

Passion smirked. "Knowledge can be a real stick in the mud. Trust me, there are some things not even she can understand." Passion blew Raven a kiss in dismissal as the latter travelled back through her mirror.

~0~0~0~

Raven reconvened with the rest of the team only to be split up minutes later by Robin's orders. Raven and Beast Boy took the south side of the forest since that was where the others had last seen Speedy in person. Raven floated above Beast Boy who was in the form of a bloodhound. Raven could sense something was off about him. The atmosphere between them wasn't necessarily awkward, but it wasn't normal either. Normally Beast Boy would have talked to her for a bit before switching. Normally his aura wasn't so somber.

 _Normally_ _I wouldn't be thinking about him this much_ , Raven thought, fascinated by the change in how she viewed the changeling these past couple of weeks.

He had been so confident last night in her feelings towards him, yet this morning he seemed more uncertain. Perhaps after the high of the night wore off, nothing was left except unanswered questions.

Raven sighed to herself, using her abilities to sense for Speedy. She knew she cared for Beast Boy. She even knew she lusted after him, but would there ever be a scenario where they could end up together? Her demonic side mixed with his primal urges certainly must be a disaster waiting to happen.

"I'm not sensing Speedy at all," Raven spoke, breaking the silence. Beast Boy only acknowledged her with a flick of his ear. The gesture sent a bolt of irritation through Raven. "I never knew you _not_ talking could be even more annoying."

That did it. Beast Boy morphed back into his human self and glared up at her. "What's your problem?"

Raven levitated downwards so she was eyelevel with him. "I don't have a problem. I requested you give me time. Did you change your mind?"

"Yes," Beast Boy snapped, and then sighed. "No…I don't know. You're just confusing me Rae. Can't we just talk about it?"

"We're in the middle of a mission," Raven said brusquely, brushing past him. She was forced to halt as he gripped her forearm.

"What did you tell Robin?" he demanded.

Raven stared at him. "That's none of your business."

A fiery blush spread across Beast Boy's cheeks. "Yuh-huh it is! It's my privacy too, ya know. I don't want Robin knowing that I…that we…"

Raven blinked, suddenly realizing where all of his aggression was coming from. "I didn't tell him about us, Gar."

"Oh." Beast Boy paused. "So…there's an us?"

Raven opened her mouth, but found no words came out. _Come on Passion,_ she thought, _you couldn't keep your mouth shut in Nevermore, and you choose_ now _to be silent?_

Thank Azar she didn't have to answer, for she felt a wave of lust pass over her in a whole new way. With something so powerful she would have assumed it to be Robin and Starfire, but she knew they weren't anywhere near her. And, judging by the way Beast Boy crinkled his nose; he sensed it too.

"Is that you?" Raven asked skeptically.

Beast Boy shook his head. "No, but whoever it is, they're really close."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but let's follow it," Raven said, taking him by the arm and feeling with her powers. "Any chance you can change into a bloodhound again?"

Beast Boy shook his head. "This scent is really strong. My nose would fall off. Whoever these creeps are, we're right on top of them. Ow, Rae you're hurting me."

"Sorry," Raven said, discovering her nails had been digging into his skin. "The feeling is overpowering." She stopped moving, finding her legs were swaying. She was amazed her mind wasn't being assaulted with visions, but she supposed her make out session with Beast Boy last night had something to do with that.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked, his voice betraying his concern. Raven saw his nose move again and, she watched in fascination as his pupils became dilated. He could smell the lust on her, even if it wasn't really her own.

"They're here," Raven croaked back, pointing to the ground in front of them. Beast Boy got down on his hands and knees and pressed his ear against the dirt. He rose and turned to face his teammate.

"I think there's some sort of bunker down there," he told her.

Raven reached out and took his hand. Almost immediately he interlocked his fingers with hers. "Then we're going down," she said, and he nodded in determination. Raven closed her eyes as she concentrated. _"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos,"_ she chanted, and her and Beast Boy phased through the dirt.

They touched down on solid concrete. Raven glanced around and noted the location they were in seemed to be an underground warehouse of sorts. There was minimal evidence that showed anyone inhabited the place, save for an old beat up mattress on the floor. Both Raven and Beast Boy started as they heard a small crash coming from the back of the warehouse. "Come on," Raven urged, and the two rushed in the direction of the noise.

Once the two rounded a large steal pillar, they halted in their tracks. Raven's eyes widened at what they found, and Beast Boy's jaw hung open comically.

Speedy had Cheshire up against the wall, his head buried in her neck as he peppered her skin with passionate kisses. Cheshire's mask was askew, and Raven could see the girl's lips parted as she gasped softly. The villainess's green kimono was hiked up even higher on her thighs as her legs wrapped around Speedy's hips. The redheaded hero had his bare fingers buried in her ebony hair.

 _Well, didn't see that one coming,_ Raven thought.

Beast Boy, not usually one for tact, blurted, "WHAT THE-"

Speedy and Cheshire sprung apart abruptly, the latter covering her face until her mask was secured. Speedy whipped around, holding his hands up in surrender. "Beast Boy, Raven," he spluttered, clearly at a loss, "I know this looks bad but I can explain-"

Raven raised a hand and effectively trapped both Speedy and Cheshire in her powers. The two were so flustered by their intrusion that they hadn't even had a chance to avoid her entrapment. "You're a traitor then?" Raven questioned Speedy, her voice harsh.

Speedy's eyes widened. "No! I can explain, really! I'm not defecting. Jade is!"

"Jade?" Beast Boy asked, glancing at Cheshire curiously.

"She showed interest in dropping the whole villain shtick. I've been really close with her these past few months. She's not evil like you think," Speedy continued.

"I think we just saw for ourselves how close you've been," Raven drawled, causing the young hero to blush fiercely. "Look, we aren't letting you go until Robin gets here." Raven nodded at Beast Boy, and the changeling whipped out his communicator.

"You should be lucky I have chosen to not hurt you and your friends," Cheshire spoke for the first time. "If Roy had not persuaded me, your precious leader would be long dead."

Raven quirked an eyebrow. She had never heard Cheshire speak before. She had imagined her voice to be smooth like the girl's movements. Instead it was rough, a little ragged even, with a trace of an accent behind it. "You're target was Robin this whole time?"

Raven was sure if she could see Cheshire's facial expression, the girl would have been smirking. The assassin cocked her head to the side. "Not the whole time. Roy was my first."

"I kinda talked her out of it," Speedy said sheepishly.

Beast Boy returned to the interrogation after he had sent out a signal to Robin. "So what? Robin's just supposed to make you a Titan now? You're an assassin!"

Cheshire scoffed. "I do not want to join your 'Titans,' merely to use my skills for a better purpose than assassinations. Talk to your Robin."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "How can we be sure to believe you?"

"You don't have to," she replied simply, "but it will be harder on yourselves if you don't. One way or another, I will escape."

Beast Boy and Raven exchanged a glance of shock. This was just getting more and more strange.

When the others, sans Cyborg, arrived, Raven released her hold on Speedy so Robin could interrogate him with the others. After Raven had assured Beast Boy she could handle Cheshire herself, the changeling went over to join the rest of their team. Raven waited patiently for the others, keeping her black energy encased hand pointed in Cheshire's direction.

"You are some sort of witch?" the kimono clad criminal asked. Raven ignored her, which only made the villainess chuckle. "You're wasting your time interrogating Roy. Everything he knows is what he has told you."

"Not everything. He hasn't told us how he got involved with you," Raven said, casting a side-glance at the masked girl.

Cheshire shrugged against her bonds. "He fell in love with me. Thought he could enlighten me."

"Hasn't he?" Raven questioned. "You said it yourself, you no longer wish to use your abilities for evil."

"I said I no longer wish to use them for assassinations assignments. That doesn't mean I cannot use them for my own gain."

"As a petty thief then?"

Cheshire scoffed in response. "You expect me to tell you? I think not."

Raven paused, glancing across the warehouse to where the others were questioning Speedy. "If you want to be with him, you're going to need to give up your life of crime."

Cheshire laughed. "What makes you think I wish to be with him? Roy was fun; that was all."

Raven stared at her blankly. "I'm an empath. That means when you two were… _interacting_ with one another, I could feel your lust for each other, but I also felt your affection for him."

Cheshire was silent. A thought occurred to Raven. This criminal in front of her was not so different from herself. She too, would have rather denied her feelings if it kept her from getting hurt. Cheshire may feel as if she didn't deserve Speedy in the same way that Raven herself felt she may not have deserved Beast Boy. It was a hard thing to swallow.

"You have a choice," Raven continued carefully. "Speedy may be with you now, but that's only because he believes you can change. You can give up your lifestyle and be with him, or you can choose to commit these petty crimes, as you say, and never be with him again."

She watched as Cheshire's shoulders slumped. "You _are_ a witch after all."

Raven smirked. "I've been called worse."

~0~0~0~

Raven got up from the edge of her bed to place the book she had been reading on her bureau. She could honestly say this was one of the strangest days of her life in terms of how missions went.

Cheshire had agreed to be taken to prison, but she made a special promise to Robin that she would break out so she could live her life peacefully. Cyborg had gotten Bumblebee to come to Titans' Tower specifically so she could give Speedy an earful about his foolish actions, as well as for not keeping her in the loop. Raven caught the grateful look Bee cast Cyborg for coming to fetch her, making the empath believe the two had patched up their friendship on the way over.

Speedy, of course, was severely disappointed he wouldn't be able to see Cheshire as frequently anymore, but he made sure to keep the extent of his disappointment from his team leader. The two Titan's East members were currently on their way home. Cyborg had offered them a ride back in the T-Ship, but Bee had insisted she fly home with Speedy because she still had to give him a piece of her mind.

Raven left her room and proceeded down the hallway with a specific destination in mind. All in all, she supposed the mission could have ended a lot worse. Cheshire clearly didn't have the heart to carry out her assassination on Robin anymore. As to who would want him dead, that could be anybody's guess. She was sure that would be the next order of business to figure out, but for now, the Tower was peaceful.

The half-demon paused outside Starfire's room, hearing a faint giggle followed by the sounds of smacking lips. Raven felt that familiar warmth inside of her, but it no longer bothered her in the way it had. Now that she had accepted her own lust, blocking out others' was becoming easier and easier.

She walked a bit farther until she was in front of the next room. Raising a fist, she knocked on the door twice. The metal barrier slid open a few moments later to reveal Beast Boy, staring at her curiously.

"Oh. Hey Rae," he said, his ears twitching.

 _Damn it all, Passion was right. His ears are cute._

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "Did you need something or-?"

Without another moment passing by, Raven gripped the front of Beast Boy's uniform and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was so fleeting that Beast Boy didn't even have the chance to respond. When she freed him, he regarded her with the most laughably bewildered look on his face. Taking a deep breath, Raven asked the question that had probably been on her mind longer than she would have liked to admit.

"Would you like to accompany me on a date sometime?"

Beast Boy grinned.

The End.

~0~0~0~

 **Author's Note:** _Just a short, fun, little story that I hope you all enjoyed. Let me know what you think about the potential story above, and if it's something you would like to see!_


End file.
